BP sees TANAP gas pipeline project deal within two months

He said that all main documents were signed last week.

"We are very, very close ... That has been very good progress over the last week and a half ... I think (we will sign the deal) within the next two months," Schlueter said on the sidelines of the Georgian Oil, Gas, Energy and Infrastructure conference in the capital Tbilisi.

Schlueter also said that the BP-led consortium of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field development was on track in Georgia and Azerbaijan with its works on the project, despite the decline in global oil prices.

"Of course, we are tightening our belts ... But there is no change to commitments in our operations," he said.

He added the consortium planned to spend about $6 billion in 2015 on the Shah Deniz II and the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion (SCPX) projects.

BP company and TANAP consortium have already signed a shareholder agreement, according to which BP will become one of the shareholders of TANAP.

Under the agreement signed in Turkey on Mar.13, BP will get a 12-percent share in the project.

Following the completion of the legal implementation procedure, TANAP’s shareholders will be as follows: State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) – 58 percent, Botas – 30 percent and BP – 12 percent.

The TANAP project envisages the transportation of gas of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field from the Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey.

TANAP’s initial capacity is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Around six billion cubic meters of this gas will be delivered to Turkey and the rest of the volume to Europe.

Turkey will obtain gas in 2018 and after the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), gas will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.

The project’s cost is estimated at $10-$11 billion.