Reuters: Turkey to increase its stake in TANAP gas pipeline project

Turkey is expected to increase its 20 percent stake in the multi-billion dollar Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline project (TANAP), designed to reduce Europe's reliance on Russian gas, Azeri state energy company SOCAR said.

Rovnag Abdullayev, head of SOCAR, said on Tuesday that Turkey's stake would be increased at the expense of stakes offered to Statoil and Total.

"The issue of how much Turkey's stake will be increased is under discussion now with other members of the consortium," Abdullayev told journalists.

BP has agreed to join SOCAR and Turkey in TANAP, which would carry Azeri gas to Turkey and to other markets in Europe, by buying a 12 percent stake from Socar, industry sources and energy officials told Reuters last week.

That stake is estimated to cost $8 billion to $10 billion.  MORE