During a Jan. 29 meeting between foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan, Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu suggested that Turkmenistan should join the Trans-Anatolin gas pipeline (TANAP).

Once this pipeline is implemented, it will deliver natural gas from the Shah Deniz development to the Georgian-Turkish border. According to a report from the U.S. – Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce, initial capacity for the pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters annually. Tthe pipeline will deliver approximately six billion cubic meters to be sent to Turkey, and the rest will be spread throughout Europe.

Gas supplies will be able to reach Turkey beginning in 2018, and Europe will begin seeing natural gas by 2020 once the connecting Trans-Adriatic Pipeline is completed.

A total of seven companies are involved in the construction of the pipeline. Six of them are from Turkey and one is a Chinese company. Project cost estimates are currently between $10 billion and $11 billion.