ANKARA, Turkey, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A BP representative in Turkey said the company was planning to take a stake in the Trans-Anatolian natural gas project from an Azeri oil company.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev signed an agreement regarding the Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline in June. The pipeline is designed to carry natural gas from the BP-controlled Shah Deniz field in the Azeri waters of the Caspian Sea through Turkish territory.
Bud Fackrell, a BP representative in Turkey, was quoted by the region's Trend news service as saying TANAP was important for energy security.
"The TANAP project is of interest for the entire region, and therefore we support it," he said. "BP received The State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic's offer to purchase part of its share. We intend to purchase a stake in this project."
He didn't specify the size of the stake.
A final route decision and investment plans for the project are expected by next year.
TANAP could link to Nabucco West, a scaled-down version of the larger $10.4 billion proposal.
Project partners expect to have TANAP built before Shah Deniz starts production by 2017.
