by Kostis Geropoulos Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said in Baku on February 12 that Ankara plans to go ahead with the Southern Gas Corridor projects, including the Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline (TANAP). “These projects take advantage of Turkey’s geographic position, and Turkey will use that advantage in favour of its neighbours and EU members,” Yildiz said. At the same time, Turkey is working with Russia to construct the so-called Turkish Stream gas pipeline, a multi-billion-dollar project that could supply up to 63 billion cubic metres of gas under the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey, and on to Greece and the EU. The Gazprom-led project was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a December 2014 state visit to Turkey after the scrapping of the South Stream pipeline. Construction of the Turkish Stream’s first section should be completed by December 2016, according to the Russian gas monopoly. European Commission sources told New Europe on February 12 that the Commission’s services will analyse Gazprom’s plan with the regard to its economic viability as well as regulatory and legal feasibility and consequences. In any case the European Commission expects that obligations arising from existing gas contracts are met, the sources stressed. Turkey remains a key partner of the EU in the field of energy and the Southern Corridor is beneficial to both EU and Turkey. With regard to Turkey, the European Commission has no reason to question the reliability of Turkey when it comes to our energy partnership and its engagement in TANAP, the Commission sources said. Yildiz reassured the EU, saying in Baku that his country is determined both politically and economically about the Southern Gas Corridor. “The $45 billion Southern Gas Corridor is one of the most significant projects for the supply of natural gas to European Union countries,” Yildiz said. TANAP is part of the Southern Gas Corridor project along with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), and the second stage of the development of the offshore Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan. “TANAP is moving ahead of schedule,” Yildiz said, adding that Turkey has increased its share of the Shah Deniz 2 natural gas field. The pipeline will originate at the Georgia-Turkey border, and then pass through Anatolia to reach Greece to carry 16 billion cubic metres of gas annually when it is completed in 2018. Six billion cubic metres of gas will be for Turkey’s domestic consumption. Yildiz said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the groundbreaking ceremony of TANAP in March. The Turkish Energy Minister has also met in Baku with European Commission Vice President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic, US Special Representative Amos Hochstein, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Industry and Energy Natiq Aliyev, and Greece’s new Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Panagiotis Lafazanis. On energy, the European Commission sources told New Europe that “there is a scope to upgrade our dialogue to a higher level, reflecting the importance of this subject in EU-Turkey relations. This would also make sense in the context of the work we are doing within the EU on the Energy Union”. The Commission will be announcing more concrete plans on February 25, they said. follow on twitter @energyinsider Previously on Energy Insider: Tsipras Sees Red (Pipeline), Accepts Putin Invite Oil Slump, Weak Ruble, Ukraine, Make Gazprom Reassess Plans As Elections Loom, Greece Wants To Be EU’s Energy Catalyst
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