The Igdır-Nakhchivan natural gas pipeline, one of the symbolic projects reflecting the brotherhood between Türkiye and Azerbaijan, was inaugurated, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, announced on Wednesday.
During the opening ceremony of the pipeline in Igdır, a province in eastern Türkiye, the Minister stated that energy projects between the two countries will contribute to both Europe’s and the world’s energy security.
‘With projects such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline, and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), Türkiye, together with Azerbaijan, plays a crucial role in global oil supply as well as in Europe’s natural gas supply,’ he explained.
The Igdır-Nakhchivan natural gas project is expected to meet the natural gas needs of the entire population of Nakhchivan, Bayraktar said.
‘We are strengthening these unshakable bonds and the ties of the heart between our two countries, and we are making them even stronger through energy connections,’ Bayraktar added. He also mentioned that under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the next project will involve electricity transmission from Nakhchivan to Türkiye.
Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister, Parviz Shahbazov, was also present at the opening ceremony in Igdır.
Shahbazov said that the pipelin was significant for the energy security of both countries, stating that it will contribute to the development of both Nakhchivan and Igdir.
Shahbazov also emphasized that the natural gas in the pipeline has the reverse flow capability.
– 500 million cubic meters gas to transfer annually
Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of understanding with Türkiye in December 2020 for the construction of the Igdir-Azerbaijan Natural Gas Pipeline as a second option to ensure the gas supply security of Nakhchivan.
As part of the project, 80-kilometer natural gas pipeline built in cooperation between Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) and Azerbaijani SOCAR, 2 mcm of gas can be transported daily.
The pipeline has an annual capacity of 500 mcm of natural gas. The natural gas pipeline expected to meet natural gas needs of the entire Nakhchivan population for 30 years.