Early to tell pipeline cost, says minister

It is not yet time to discuss the cost of a Trans-Anatolia pipeline project to carry Azerbaijani gas across Turkey, according to Energy Minister Taner Yıldız.

“It would be early to talk about the cost,” Yıldız told journalists in Istanbul on Nov. 18.

The minister has not clearly outlined either the location of the Trans-Anatolia Project or which current pipeline project it would be connected to.

“This is a catalyst project related to the feasibility and cost of Nabucco, the Turkey-Greece-Italian line [ITGI] and the Trans-Adriatic Project [TAP],” he said.

 “We will focus on the Mediterranean following the Black Sea conference; this is a step to support Turkey’s road map,” Yıldız said on the recent deal with Shell on oil exploration off the southern province of Antalya with Shell. “This should not be interpreted as a political rebuke.”