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Turkey Azerbaijan start work on gas pipeline
(MENAFN- Arab News) ISTANBUL: Turkey has staked a claim to become a major transit hub with two new pipelines to pump gas from Azerbaijan and Russia to Europe but boasting may prove easier than fulfilling the ambitious projects.
Turkey and Azerbaijan last week started work on the new 1850 kilometer (1150 mile) overland Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) which by 2018 aims to provide 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year (bcma) to European consumers and 6 bcma to Turkish customers.
At the same time Turkish and Russian officials are in intense negotiations to agree terms for a brand new Turkish Stream pipeline under the Black Sea.
With the EU backing TANAP and Russia behind Turkish Stream Turkey is now placed in a hugely strategic position in the intensifying rivalry between Brussels and Moscow over gas supply.
Turkey''s dream is to turn the region on the western side of the country bordering Greece and Bulgaria into a gas hub where multiple pipelines will meet to pump gas to EU consumers.
The EU-backed TANAP appears sure to be built as finding returns on the $40-$45 billion investment in Azerbaijan''s Shah Deniz 2 gas field depends on the pipeline.
Turkish Stream however is a far less stable proposition.
Questions remain over whether Turkey has sufficient capacity to become a genuine gas hub which requires far more than the building of pipeline infrastructure.
"To be an energy hub there are a number of ingredients that are necessary none of which exist as yet in Turkey" said Edward Chow senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
He pointed to the lack of a strong international banking system a solid legal system to resolve normal commercial disputes and sufficient storage facilities.
"Turkey has the advantage of location it''s near a lot of oil and gas producing countries. Being a hub takes time" he said.
The $10 billion TANAP project whose construction was launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev is firmly backed by the European Union which hopes it will help Europe reduce its dependence on Russian gas.
Turkey and Azerbaijan last week started work on the new 1850 kilometer (1150 mile) overland Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) which by 2018 aims to provide 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year (bcma) to European consumers and 6 bcma to Turkish customers.
At the same time Turkish and Russian officials are in intense negotiations to agree terms for a brand new Turkish Stream pipeline under the Black Sea.
With the EU backing TANAP and Russia behind Turkish Stream Turkey is now placed in a hugely strategic position in the intensifying rivalry between Brussels and Moscow over gas supply.
Turkey''s dream is to turn the region on the western side of the country bordering Greece and Bulgaria into a gas hub where multiple pipelines will meet to pump gas to EU consumers.
The EU-backed TANAP appears sure to be built as finding returns on the $40-$45 billion investment in Azerbaijan''s Shah Deniz 2 gas field depends on the pipeline.
Turkish Stream however is a far less stable proposition.
Questions remain over whether Turkey has sufficient capacity to become a genuine gas hub which requires far more than the building of pipeline infrastructure.
"To be an energy hub there are a number of ingredients that are necessary none of which exist as yet in Turkey" said Edward Chow senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
He pointed to the lack of a strong international banking system a solid legal system to resolve normal commercial disputes and sufficient storage facilities.
"Turkey has the advantage of location it''s near a lot of oil and gas producing countries. Being a hub takes time" he said.
The $10 billion TANAP project whose construction was launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev is firmly backed by the European Union which hopes it will help Europe reduce its dependence on Russian gas.
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