The Tabriz–Ankara pipeline is a 2,577-kilometre (1,601 mi) long natural gas pipeline, which runs from Tabriz in north-west Iran to Ankara in Turkey.
Tabriz–Ankara pipeline | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Iran, Turkey |
General direction | south–north |
From | Tabriz, Iran |
Passes through | Erzurum |
To | Ankara, Turkey |
General information | |
Type | natural gas |
Partners | National Iranian Oil Company, BOTAŞ |
Commissioned | 2001 |
Technical information | |
Maximum discharge | 14 billion cubic meters per year |
History
The construction of pipeline started in 1996 after signing a gas deal between Turkish and Iranian governments. The gas deal was signed on 30 August 1996. The pipeline was commissioned in July 2001.
The Iran-Turkey pipeline has allegedly been blown up several times by PKK fighters.[1] In January 2008 gas supplies were stopped because of cut-off gas supplies from Turkmenistan.[2] The supply was cut off again in February 2008 because of bad weather conditions.[3]
Technical features
The Turkish section, operated by BOTAŞ, cost US$600 million. The pipeline capacity is 14 bcm per year:[4] Turkish normally imports about 11 billion cubic meters of gas a year through the pipeline.[2] Just before Ankara it is linked to Blue Stream.[5]
Contracts
Negotiations are in progress to renew the current 25 year contract,[6] for nearly 10 bcm per year,[7] which expires end-2025 according to the Middle East Economic Survey[8] (or end-July 2026 according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies[9]: 22 ).