President Aliyev hopes there’ll be no obstacles to TAP

02.06.2015 17:00

President Ilham Aliyev has said he hopes there will be no "artificial” obstacles to the planned Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to deliver Azerbaijani natural gas to Europe from the Turkish-Greek border.

"There should be no artificial obstacles,” Aliyev said on Tuesday, speaking at the 22nd Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition in Baku. "If there are no obstacles, TAP will be built on time and Azerbaijan will export gas to Europe.”

Azerbaijan agreed in December 2013 to export 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year to EU countries including Italy, Greece, Bulgaria and Albania. First Azeri gas is planned to arrive in Europe in 2020.

Aliyev said all participants in the project need to behave "more responsibly” and refrain from seeking "additional privileges”.

"All contracts have already been signed,” Aliyev said without naming anyone.

Azeri energy officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the new Greek government demands transit fee for gas that will be delivered via the Greek section of TAP. This is against the contracts and EU law, they said.

President Aliyev also called for better coordination and greater trust among TAP participants. He said everybody will benefit from the project.

Any issue that may arise during the implementation of the project needs to be resolved in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding, he said.

TAP is to deliver gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz deposit, which holds 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.

Aliyev said Azerbaijan has at least 2.6 trillion cubic meters of proven reserves of natural gas.

www.ann.az

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