The investments of Azeri state-owned oil and gas company SOCAR in Turkey,
including the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project, will reach
$20 billion (14.6 billion euro) by 2018, Turkish media reported on Friday,
citing SOCAR Turkey head Kenan Yavuz.
The TANAP project to transport
Azeri natural gas to Europe via Turkey is expected to cost between $8.0 billion
and $10 billion, daily Hurriyet reported, quoting Yavuz.
SOCAR owns an
80% stake in TANAP, while Turkish state-owned firms BOTAS and TPAO hold the
remaining 20%.
SOCAR has recently invested some $75 million to finance
the future expenses for the STAR Refinery project in Turkey's western province
of Izmir, Yavuz said, speaking at the third Caspian Forum in Istanbul on
Thursday.
The refinery is scheduled to become operational in the middle
of 2017, according to Yavuz.
SOCAR is building and will operate the
refinery via its 81.5/18.5 joint venture with Turkish integrated energy company
Turcas Petrol.