Trans-Adriatic Pipeline to carry Iranian gas through Turkey
Posted by meb at February 13th, 2008
Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Güler and Swiss Federal Office of Energy Director Walter Steinman met yesterday in Ankara to discuss a natural gas pipeline project that would carry Iranian gas to Europe via Turkey.
“Turkey and Switzerland are assessing the construction of a new natural gas pipeline, named the ‘Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) Project,’ that would originate in Turkey and cut across the Balkans, Albania, and Italy,” Güler told reporters, adding that the to countries discussed renewable energy projects, new pipelines and nuclear energy issues.
“We are considering carrying out very comprehensive joint energy projects with Switzerland and plan on signing a memorandum of understanding with Switzerland in one month,” Güler added. Briefing reporters about the TAP project, Güler said it was a project in addition to a Turkey-Greece-Italy pipeline project and the Nabucco Pipeline project. “This pipeline will carry Iranian natural gas to Thessalonica (via Turkey) and then to Albania. It will then pass through the Adriatic Sea to Italy,” he stated. Güler said Turkey will assess the project’s conditions thoroughly and then make a decision.
Meanwhile, representative of EGL, a Swiss-based company contracted to carry out the project, said it had already made an agreement with Iran on the gas that will be transported via the pipeline, adding that Shah Deniz gas will be carried by this pipeline in cooperation with StatoilHydro.
The 520-kilometer-long pipeline will transport gas via Greece and Albania, across the Adriatic Sea to Italy’s southern Puglia region and further into Western Europe. TAP’s offshore length will measure about 115 kilometers. TAP’s upstream section will interconnect with Greece’s existing pipeline system that is linked further to the east with systems in Turkey. The gas transport capacity of the pipeline will be around 10 billion cubic meters annually, with a possibility to expand this to 20 billion cubic meters. The soonest that TAP is expected to be operational is in 2011, a date dependent on gas transport needs. EGL has begun constructing the project and estimates the cost of building the pipeline at $2.2 billion.
Turkey to invite bids for first nuclear power plant on Feb. 21
Turkey has revived plans to build its first nuclear power plant on the Mediterranean coast despite warnings from environmentalists that the site was in an earthquake prone location, the energy minister said Tuesday. The minister, Hilmi Güler, said everything was ready for construction at Akkuyu, near the Mediterranean coastal town of Silifke, the state-run Anatolia news agency said. Turkey will formally invite bids for the project on Feb. 21, he said.
Environmentalists already unhappy because of the safety concerns over nuclear power production oppose the use of the Akkuyu site because they say it is prone to earthquakes. Güler has said that concerns over both issues would be taken into consideration in the plant’s construction. Studies to prepare another site at Sinop, a Black Sea port town, was also under way, Güler said.
The government has said it plans to build three nuclear power plants by 2015 to meet the country’s growing energy needs. Turkey has limited energy resources, relying on natural gas supplies from Iran and Russia.
source: Today’s Zaman
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