TANAP section to Greece will be launched in 2019

Baku. 1 June. REPORT.AZ/ TANAP section from Eskişehir to Greece border will be commissioned in 2019.

Report informs, First Vice President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) Khoshbakht Yusifzade said.

"TANAP section, to transport 10 bln cubic meters of gas to Europe and stretch to the Greece border, will be launched in 2019", SOCAR official said.

Kh.Yusifzade said that TANAP part to Eskişehir will be commissioned by mid next year: "TANAP is the largest project implemented by SOCAR abroad so far. 72.4% of works on the project have been carried out".

SOCAR's First Vice President added that Azerbaijan is an initiator of giant energy projects: "Currently implementing Southern Gas Corridor is Azerbaijan's largest energy and infrastructure project. In the first stage, source of the Southern Gas Corridor will be gas volumes produced on "Shah Deniz-2" project. Stable dynamics achieved in the commissioned "Shah Deniz-1" project. Gas production makes 9 bln cum in this phase. Additional 16 bln cum of gas will be produced in the second phase of the development. All the necessary measures are being taken in this regard, 26 subsea production wells, two new platforms are being built, 500 km long subsea pipelines are under construction, Sangachal terminal is being expanded. In frames of "Shah Deniz-2" project, subsea infrastructure is being established in the Caspian Sea for the first time. 8 wells, considered for first gas production, were drilled within the project, 3 wells are fully ready to deliver to commissioning, completion works are being carried out in one well.

According to him, drilling is underway in two more wells: "To the beginning of May, totally 93% of works have been carried out on "Shah Deniz-2". Over 85% works implemented on South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion".

Speaking about TAP, Kh.Yusifzade said that legal procedures have been completed on this segment, construction work continues successfully in Greece and Albania, appropriate permits obtained in Italy. 42.4% of works have been done on the TAP project.

The SOCAR official noted that oil production in the country reached peak in 2010 - 50.4 million tons and stabilized at around 43 mln tons in recent years. Kh.Yusifzade added that gas production increased by 4-fold in last 10 years and reached annually 29 bln cubic meters: "1.971 bln tons of oil extracted in Azerbaijan so far and this figure is expected to rise to 2 bln tons this year. "Azneft "Production Union, the SOCAR production enterprise currently carries out development of 46 fields. In 2016, union has produced 6.2 mln tons of oil and 5.6 bln cum of gas for domestic and foreign markets".