BP is interested in taking a “meaningful stake” in either the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) or Nabucco West projects, the company's vice-president for Shakh Deniz Development Al Cook today said.
The BP-led Shakh Deniz consortium is due to decide by mid-2013 which pipeline to choose as a route to deliver future exports of gas from the 16bn m³/yr second phase of Shakh Deniz to European markets. Cook said Nabucco West, a scaled-down version of the original Nabucco concept, offers the same advantages as the BP-proposed South East European Pipeline (SEEP) project. BP put forward SEEP as a fallback option after concluding that the original Nabucco proposal for a 31bn m³/yr pipeline running from eastern Turkey to central Europe was uneconomic.
The Shakh Deniz partners are due to choose between Nabucco West, which Cook describes as a big step forward from the original concept, and SEEP by the end of this month. Cook added that BP hopes negotiations between Azerbaijan and Turkey on agreements needed for the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) to transport Shakh Deniz phase 2 gas through Turkey to Europe will be concluded by the end of this month.