Baku, December 17 (AZERTAC). Turkey intends to increase its stake in the Trans-Anatolian pipeline (TANAP) to 30 per cent, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said at the Shah Deniz 2 Final Investment Decision Signing Ceremony in Baku.

"An increase in Turkey`s share in the TANAP project is important for the country," he said.

The minister also stressed that these projects being implemented in the region are extremely important.

Turkey`s share in the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) project can be increased from the current 20 per cent, SOCAR head Rovnag Abdullayev said earlier.

Abdullayev added that Turkey`s share may be increased through shares offered to Statoil and Total in the TANAP project.

Presently, a 20 per cent share in TANAP belongs to Turkey, while 80 per cent is owned by Azerbaijan.

Earlier, SOCAR partners in the Shah Deniz gas field development project voiced their preliminary intentions to acquire a stake in the TANAP project. According to the primary data, the partners intend to distribute a 29 per cent share in TANAP (Azerbaijan`s 80 per cent stake) as follows: Statoil and BP are to receive 12 per cent each and Total would get five per cent.

SOCAR is preparing to launch TANAP in 2018.

The TANAP project envisages gas transportation from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas field to Europe through Turkey. The pipeline`s initial capacity is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters a year. About six billion cubic meters will be delivered to Turkey and the rest to Europe. In future it could be extended up to 31 billion cubic meters per year.