US National Interests magazine publishes article on TANAP
Washington, February 1 (AZERTAC). Alexandros Petersen, the Advisor to the European Energy Security Initiative at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC and author of “The World Island: Eurasian Geopolitics and the Fate of the West” has published an article titled “The National Interests (NI)”, an American bi-monthly international affairs magazine published by the Center for the National Interest.
According to the Alexandros Petersen, the energy security of America`s European allies is set to receive a boost by an agreement made thousands of kilometers away in the Caspian.
“The Shah Deniz consortium, responsible for one of the world`s largest natural gas fields in Azerbaijan, will soon announce that its partners, including BP, Statoil and Total, are buying into the main Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) planned to bring gas to the European Union through Turkey.
The plan on the table for more than a decade was Nabucco. Named after a grand Verdi opera, the equally grand pipeline project was supposed to bring 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year to Austria`s Baumgarten natural gas terminal. But Shah Deniz in Azerbaijan did not anticipate ever having that much gas to spare, and Nabucco as proposed was impossibly expensive and included a number of pygmy investors that could never realistically fund the project.
Azerbaijan itself came up with a solution. Instead of waiting for European companies to build an export route, Azerbaijan`s state energy company, SOCAR, decided it would finance and operate its own pipeline through Turkey to southeastern Europe. The Trans-Anatolian Pipeline proposal was much more realistic. At 16 bcm a year, it aligned with Shah Deniz production estimates and crucially did not break the bank. It is now well on its way to beginning construction, with a commissioning date announced for 2018.
“The upcoming announcement of BP, Statoil and Total buying into TANAP together with SOCAR and Turkish state companies BOTAS and TPAO will signal that there is no turning back on the project. TANAP may still partner with the Nabucco team in connecting with a smaller version called Nabucco West in central Europe.
In fact, Azerbaijan was best placed to realize the connection between its gas and the people who need it in Europe. Speaking the same language and with much history of collaboration, Azerbaijani decision makers turned out to be much more savvy negotiators with Turkey than European companies. SOCAR will control 51 percent of the dedicated transit pipeline within Turkey, with Turkish companies at a combined 20 percent or less.
TANAP highlights that in Azerbaijan, Europe now has a new strategic energy partner, not just a source of resources.”
Yusif Babanly
Other news in this section
