The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) is one of the most successful joint energy projects between Azerbaijan and Türkiye. TANAP, starting from the Ardahan region, Türkiye on the Türkiye-Georgian border, passes through 20 cities, 69 districts and 604 villages, and ends in the Ipsala district of Edirne of Türkiye on the Türkiye-Greece border. At this point, it joins the TAP Natural Gas Pipeline that transports natural gas to European countries.
Eskisehir and Thrace have two exit points to connect to Türkiye’s domestic natural gas transmission network. With a total length of 1,850 km, TANAP is the longest natural gas pipeline in Türkiye. The TANAP project was built on Phase-0 and Phase-1. The Phase-0 section of the pipeline from the Georgian-Türkiye border to Eskisehir is 56 inches in diameter and 1,345 km long. Phase 1 is 48 inches in diameter and 459 km long. In addition, TANAP’s two 36-inch double lines with a total length of 37.0 km pass through the Chanaggala through the bottom of the Marmara Sea.
The highest part of TANAP is located in the Gizildag region of Erzincan (2,760 m), and the deepest part is in the Marmara Sea (-65 m).
The system includes the following surface objects:
• 7 Compressor Stations,
• 4 Metering Stations,
• 12 Pigging Stations,
• 49 Block Valve Stations,
• 2 Off-take Stations to supply Türkiye’s domestic natural gas network.
At present, TANAP has two compressor stations, one in the Damal area of Ardahan and the other in the Seyidgazi area of Eskisehir. The number of compressor stations will be 7 when TANAP’s capacity is projected to reach a maximum design capacity of 31 bn m3.
Shareholders:
- Southern Gas Corridor CSJC – 51%
- BOTAŞ- 30%
- bp – 12%
- SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.Ş. – 7%
TANAP in figures
• The total length is 1,850 km
• More than 30% of the pipeline was built 2,000 meters above sea level
• A total of 131,620 steel pipes (circa 1.3 million tonnes), each with an average length of 13 metres
• 100,000,000 people/hour
• The highest point through which the pipeline passed was 2,760 m, and the deepest point was 65 metres below sea level,
• As part of the construction work, 13,000,000 m of excavation work and about 7,000 special crossings were built,
• Commercial gas flow at TANAP, which employed 13,000 people during the peak period of the project, started on the 30 June 2018,
• Carried out 1,000 projects to accelerate socio-economic development and protect nature in districts, towns and villages along the TANAP route through the Social and Environmental Investment Programme (SEIP), one of the largest private and environmental investment programmes implemented by the private sector in Türkiye.
TANAP: BACKGROUND
The foundation of TANAP was laid on the 17th of March 2015 in Türkiye province of Kars with the participation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President of the Republic of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili.
On the 12th of June 2018, a solemn ceremony was held in Eskisehir, Türkiye, in connection with the commissioning of TANAP. Speaking at the ceremony, President Ilham Aliyev called TANAP another manifestation of Türkiye-Azerbaijani brotherhood.
TANAP is another victory for Türkiye and Azerbaijan. TANAP is a historic project. Today we are writing the energy history of the 21st century together. This history is the history of cooperation, this history is the history of stability. Our energy projects bring stability to our region. All countries, all companies participating in these projects benefit, nations benefit. The implementation of such a huge project as TANAP was made possible by the strong political will of the leaders of Türkiye and Azerbaijan.
Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Initially, of the 16 bn m3 of Azerbaijani gas to be transported via the TANAP pipeline, 10 bn m3 was delivered to Europe and 6 bn m3 to Türkiye. Additional investment will help to increase its annual capacity to 31 bn m3.
Commercial gas flow to Türkiye started on the 30th of June 2018. The pipeline, which became fully operational for gas flow to Europe on the 1st of July 2019, has gone down in history as the longest international pipeline with the largest diameter in Türkiye, the Middle East and Europe.
On the 30th of November 2019, the opening ceremony of the European part of the TANAP gas pipeline was held at the TANAP MS4 Measurement Station in Ipsala, Edirne Province, Türkiye.
In addition to increasing Türkiye’s strategic importance in the region, the pipeline supplies more than 10% of the country’s natural gas needs and plays an important role in diversifying resources.
TANAP has also made significant contributions to Türkiye’s economy in areas such as pipelines, construction and engineering. In addition to ensuring energy security and employment, the project has implemented a number of social measures to support the local population in the areas where the pipeline passes. In accordance with the principle of Corporate Social Responsibility, significant investments have been made in areas such as the environment, health, livestock and education. As a result of environmental activities carried out within the TANAP project, 9 new species of fauna and 1 species of flora previously unknown to science were identified.
As a result of the archaeological research conducted as part of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, 106 unknown archaeological sites have been included in the cultural inventory of Türkiye. Thanks to the areas discovered during the construction process, this figure later rose to 154. Together with the management of various museums, 25 archaeological excavations were carried out and more than 1,000 archaeological pieces were handed over to the museum.
The TANAP project is of great importance for the development, prosperity and peace of the region.
The project, which opens a new stage in Azerbaijani-Türkiye economic cooperation, is also aimed at ensuring global energy security, expanding regional cooperation, diversifying gas export routes, bringing more liquefied natural gas to gas markets and contributing to global energy security.