Baku, March 9 (AZERTAC). SETA Foundation hosted a debate organized by Insight Turkey, a peer-reviewed quarterly in circulation since 1999, and entitled Regional and Global Energy Security: Turkey`s Role with the participation of the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources HE Taner Yıldız, CEO of SOCAR Turkey Kenan Yavuz and BP Turkey Country President Bud Fackrell.

The speakers, whose works on the subject appeared in the latest issue of Insight Turkey addressed the following topics: Turkey`s Energy Policy, Regional Role and Future Energy Vision, A Step Forward in Energy Cooperation: Trans - Anatolian Gas Pipeline, Current Developments in Regional Energy Security and Turkey.

Kenan Yavuz, SOCAR Turkey Energy Inc. CEO, embarked on his speech by noting some shifts in the state of global energy production and consumption. Mr. Yavuz added to his remarks the size and nature of new exciting project, Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline to run from Azerbaijan to Europe via Turkish soil. According to Mr. Yavuz, this project has come about as the combination of “brotherhood and economic rationality”.

“TANAP project will act as a bridge linking energy sources in the east with a growing consumer market in the west” he stressed.

BP Turkey Country President Bud Fackrell started his talk by pointing out that energy is the engine of growth in a country and that they, as BP, has been operating in Turkey for a century by now. He shared with the audience his hope that much-dreamed Southern Corridor will be realized this year. Regarding what the BP brings to the whole project of carrying gas through different pipelines to Europe, Fackrell noted BP`s worldwide experience in gas value chain, its strength in terms of financial and human resources, project management all around the world and its knowledge of the working of the region. According to him, Shah Deniz field, which already delivers gas to Turkey and Georgia, is the key to exploit the resources of the Caspian. Yet, only a small portion of that gigantic field has been developed so far. In terms of pipelines to carry gas to Europe, Fackrell noted that the BP is evaluating the two options, namely Nabucco and Trans Adriatic pipelines, and that they will have made their decision by mid-2013.

TANAP project envisages construction of a pipeline from Turkey`s eastern border to the western border to transport gas from Azerbaijan`s offshore Shah Deniz field to Europe. Initial capacity of the pipeline will be 16 billion cubic meters. Some 6 billion cubic meters of the volume will be supplied to Turkey, while the rest will be transported to European markets.

Azerbaijan and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement on TANAP implementation in June.

Azerbaijan`s state energy firm SOCAR holds 80 percent in the TANAP project, while Turkey`s BOTAS and TPAO has a 20 percent share.