TANAP’s capacity to be doubled: Minister

The capacity of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) will be doubled, Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez has announced.

"Currently TANAP transports 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. Türkiye receives 6 billion cubic meters while 10 billion cubic meters of gas goes to Europe. Hopefully, the capacity will increase to 32 billion cubic meters in a short period of time," Dönmez said, speaking after the second Azerbaijan-Türkiye Energy Forum in Istanbul on Oct. 6.

Türkiye will definitely benefit from the increased capacity, the minister added.

The 1,850-kilometer-long pipeline carries the natural gas extracted in Azerbaijan first to Türkiye and then to Europe.

Türkiye and Azerbaijan make a great contribution to Europe's energy supply security with large infrastructure projects such as TANAP, Dönmez said.

Despite the global crisis, the two countries fulfill their responsibilities as regards to energy supply security, he added.

Dönmez also said that an intergovernmental agreement is planned to be signed soon to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy.

"An important step will be taken when a company jointly established by Botaş and Socar becomes operational," he added.

For his part, Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said that TANAP provided 4.2 billion cubic meters of a total of 6.1 billion cubic meters of gas that Türkiye received in the first nine months of 2022.

"By the end of 2023, our natural gas exports to Türkiye will reach 9.3 billion cubic meters," the Azeri minister added.

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