The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), which will transfer natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey and Europe, started operation in central Turkey on Tuesday.
The TANAP is the longest natural gas pipeline in Turkey, the Middle East and Europe, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the inaugurating ceremony held in central Eskisehir province.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic were also present, along with some ministers and executives of energy companies.
"TANAP will deliver the Azeri gas to Europe for the first time," Erdogan noted. "We are moving one step closer to becoming an energy hub with this project."
The Turkish president also said that the pipeline will eventually be connected to the European part, and the first gas delivery to Greece could start in June 2019.
The 1,850-km pipeline will run from the Turkish border with Georgia to the Turkey-Greece border to supply natural gas to both Turkey and Europe.
The pipeline is one of the sections of the Southern Gas Corridor, along with the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
With an investment of around 8 billion U.S. dollars, it will deliver 6 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey and 10 billion to Europe per year.
Editor:Amber
