Brussels, 17/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - In Kars (eastern Turkey) on Monday 16 March, the Vice-President of the Commission in charge of the Energy Union, Maros Sefcovic, and the Turkish Energy Minister, Taner Yildiz, launched a new high-level dialogue on energy between the EU and Turkey. On Tuesday 17 March, Kars played host to the opening ceremony of the construction site of the gas pipeline Transanatolien, TANAP, a key element of the pan-European Southern Gas Corridor project.
“Turkey is a natural energy bridge and an energy hub between energy sources in the Middle Eastern and Caspian Regions and the European Union energy markets. Turkey's development as an energy hub will be to the benefit of both Turkey and the EU”, states a joint declaration adopted on Monday, which lays the foundations for the new EU/Turkey strategic energy dialogue. “Both as a candidate country currently engaging in accession negotiations with the EU and a contributor to the EU's energy security, Turkey has made an important progress in aligning its legislation with the 'acquis communautaire'. In this regard, Parties have both agreed to improve cooperation and their policy dialogue in the energy sector”, the declaration continues.
Sefcovic and Yildiz agreed on Monday to hold this dialogue at ministerial level on a regular basis, at least once a year. This dialogue will include all relevant energy sectors, such as gas, electricity, nuclear, renewable energies, energy efficiency and climate action, with particular view to preparations for the UN climate conference (COP 21), in Paris this December. In the framework of this dialogue, a further ministerial meeting will be scheduled before the end of the year, between Yildiz and the European Commissioner for Climate and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete. The dialogue will be supported by regular exchanges at working group level, in place since 2012.
The launch of this high-level dialogue confirms the Commission's commitment to establish strategic energy partnerships with producer and transit countries of growing importance, as provided for by its strategic framework for the Energy Union adopted on 25 February, the declaration adds.
In order to strengthen the security of supply, the EU and Turkey undertake to promote the development of the Southern Gas Corridor and to work together to implement the TANAP gas pipeline.
Launch of the work on TANAP. In this context, Vice-President Sefcovic, alongside the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, on Tuesday officially opened the construction site for the TANAP gas pipeline on the Selim site, near Kars.
TANAP is part of the key infrastructure of the Southern Gas Corridor project, which will bring gas from the Azerbaijan gasfield at Shah Deniz, in the Caspian Sea, to the European market. Over a total length of 1,850 kilometres, it will connect the Turkish border with Georgia and the Turkish border with Greece, via the whole of Anatolia. To the east, it will be connected to the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP), which will cross Azerbaijan and Georgia and, to the west, to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will cross Greece, Albania and Italy.
The initial capacity of TANAP, which is to be up and running in 2018, will be 16 billion m3 a year (of which 10 billion m3 will be earmarked for the EU and 6 billion m3 for Turkey). This will rise to 23 billion m3 in 2023, and then 31 billion m3 in 2026.
The consortium in charge of the work is 58% owned by the Azerbaijani gas company Socar, 30% by the Turkish gas company Botas and 12% by the British petroleum company, BP. The cost of the project is expected to stand at €10 billion.
TANAP, which has long enjoyed the support of the Commission, could ultimately cover 20% of the EU's gas requirements, the Commission estimates.
The launch of the work on TANAP comes three months after Russia abandoned its South Stream gas pipeline project, which aimed to connect Russia and Bulgaria under the Black Sea, avoiding Ukraine. Since this decision was made, Russia and Turkey have been working on a new gas pipeline project, Turkish Stream, which will connect the two countries under the Black Sea, to bring Russian gas to the Turkish and European markets. Minister Yildiz stressed on Monday that this project would not be a competitor to TANAP. (Emmanuel Hagry)