SOCAR President: Trans-Anatolian Pipeline Has Commenced

Work on the new Trans-Anatolian pipeline project has begun in Turkey today, President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), Rovnag Abdullayev has said today.

The new pipeline, which will transport Azerbaijani gas across Turkey to Europe through a standalone pipeline, will have a capacity of 16 billion cubic metres. 

Mr. Abdullayev estimates the project will cost approximately $5-6 billion.

Speaking at a conference n Istanbul, Turkey, Mr. Abdullayev said that the pipeline would aid the transit of Azerbaijan's gas to the European market.

"I would like to inform you that we have started the new transit gas pipeline project. It is called Anatolian Transit Gas Pipeline Project," he said.

"The rich gas potential of Azerbaijan will be carried to Turkish and European markets and this is a tremendous success for the two brotherly countries," the Anatola news agency reports him as saying.

The new pipeline is not a threat to the Nabucco pipeline, Mr. Abdullayev said.

"Trans Anadolu pipeline will not affect the Nabucco project," he told reporters at the conference.