TANAP gas project agreement signed in ceremony

The agreement of Trans Anatolia Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project which intends to transport natural gas from the Shah Sea 2 and other fields in Azerbaijan - and possibly from other neighboring countries - through Turkey to Europe has been signed in Ankara in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

The initial capacity of the Southern Gas Corridor is planned to be 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas and Davutoğlu, speaking at the ceremony, said the target was to raise the capacity to 31 billion cubic meters.

"80 percent of the production in TANAP will be carried out by Turkish firms [Tosçelik, Borusan Mannesmann, Erciyas Boru, Emek, Umran ve Noksel], indicating the level Turkish Industry has reached. TANAP project is not only a project of energy but also a huge peace project. Instead of creating energy rivalries we are determined to build cooperation." Davutoğlu said in his speech.

Turkey was the 9th country with the highest natural gas imports with 45.2 billion cubic meters in 2013. According to the information gathered from American Energy Institute, three trillion cubic meters of natural gas is being consumed throughout the world. Japan imported the highest amount of natural gas last year with 122 billion cubic meters, followed by the U.S. with 88.7 billion cubic meters and Germany, the locomotive of Europe, with 88 billion cubic meters. According to data from the Energy Market Regulation Board (EPDK), 20.78 percent of natural gas consumption was in houses, 45.85% was used for producing electricity and 25.11 percent was used for industrial production.