Baku, October 14, AZERTAC

"Natural gas to be produced from "Shah Deniz 2" till 2044, has already been distributed among companies from 8 countries on the basis of a contract signed for a period of 25 years", said Deputy Energy Minister of Azerbaijan Natig Abbasov in an interview to Russia's "news.rambler.ru" website.

Russia's "news.rambler.ru" website distorted the words of Natig Abbasov and submitted as "Azerbaijan has already sold the gas to be produced and supplied for export till 2040".

In response to the question "If Turkey refuses Russian gas, is it possible to compensate it with Azerbaijan gas?, the Deputy Minister answered that, natural gas to be produced from "Shah Deniz 2" till 2044, has already been distributed among companies from 8 countries on the basis of a contract signed for a period of 25 years. According to these agreements, some 16 billion cubic meters of gas have been also distributed - 10 billion cubic meters will be exported to Europe and the remaining 6 billion cubic meters – to Turkey.

Stressing that, each year, the country's energy balance is identified considering to the electricity, oil and gas demand, increasing the number of consumers and development of industry, Abbasov said that, in addition to the future ensuring of this demand, if the gas will be produced, it may be possible to export.

The 1,850 km-length TANAP project, will pump gas from the vast Azerbaijani Shah Deniz 2 field to Turkish and European Union consumers. TANAP will run from the Turkish border with Georgia, beginning in the Turkish village of Türkgözü in the Posof district of Ardahan, will run through 21 provinces until it ends at the Greek border in the İpsala district of Edirne. The pipeline is planned to be commissioned in 2018. As it was stated earlier, some 6 billion cubic meters of gas of 16 billion cubic meters will go to Turkey, while some 10 billion cubic meters of gas will go to Europe. By 2023, TANAP's capacity will rise to 23 bcm per year and then to 31 bcm by 2026. Initially, Turkey will buy the first 6 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year of gas from TANAP. A further 10 bcm will be delivered to Europe once it is connected to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) by 2020.

In 2020, TANAP line will start delivering natural gas which it will buy through the South Caucasus Pipeline by connecting Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to Europe through Greece, Albania, and Italy.

The TANAP Project's shareholding percentages will be as follows, after the process of acquisition of shares is completed: Southern Gas Corridor Closed Joint Stock Company (SGC) - 58 percent, BOTAS - 30 percent, and BP - 12 percent.