By  Trend

The Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) will support regional trade and improve connectivity, the World Bank (WB) told Trend.

"It is one of the highest infrastructure priorities for Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and the countries in south-eastern Europe. Helping countries deliver on bold, ambitious investments like TANAP represents the World Bank Group’s commitment to supporting country development priorities," said the bank.

"TANAP is a transformational project which will transport natural gas from a gas field in Azerbaijan to and across Turkey, and further to Europe. Specifically, the project aims to help Turkey to secure its energy supply and Azerbaijan to diversify its gas export markets."

TANAP will not only boost competitiveness and create economic opportunities for people in Azerbaijan and Turkey, it will also support regional trade, improve connectivity, and support energy security in Turkey and in Europe, according to the World Bank.

"Reflecting the importance of the Southern Gas Corridor for all countries involved in the program, a number of international financial institutions have decided to support this program in addition to the World Bank Group, including the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)," said the bank.

A ceremony to launch Phase 0 of TANAP took place June 12 in the Turkish city of Eskisehir.

First commercial gas deliveries to Turkey commenced within the Southern Gas Corridor on June 30.

TANAP, together with Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which provides for the transportation of gas from the Azerbaijani field Shah Deniz to Europe.

The initial capacity of TANAP is expected to be 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. About six billion cubic meters will be supplied to Turkey, and the rest to Europe. After completion of the TAP, the gas will reach Europe in early 2020.

The share distribution in TANAP is as follows: Southern Gas Corridor CJSC - 51 percent, SOCAR Turkey Enerji - 7 percent, Botas - 30 percent, and BP - 12 percent.

The launching ceremony of the first stage of the Southern Gas Corridor project was held in Baku on May 29.

The gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already gone through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - from the Sangachal terminal to the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline.

The Southern Gas Corridor, which costs more than $40 billion, is one of the priority projects for the EU and provides for the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.