On 30 November, the Trans Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) opening ceremony took place in Ipsala, the Edirne province of Turkey. At the opening ceremony were Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia.

"Today, we're proud to complete a seven-and-a-half-year long, difficult process with ultimate success in the joint efforts of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia," said Erdogan at the ceremony. “The rich natural resources we possess can now be shared with the people of other nations in the region. TANAP does not only guarantee Turkey's energy security but aims to bolster the energy supply security of European countries as well," he added.

In his address, Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev said TANAP would bring peace and prosperity to the region. "I believe TANAP will have a long-serving life and will bring peace and prosperity to Turkish, Azerbaijani and regional people," he said. Drawing attention to the significance of energy supply security internationally, the Azerbaijani president indicated that the TANAP had a mediatory function, encouraging cooperation between nations based on shared energy goals.

The President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) Rovnag Abdullayev said that for the first time in history the gas from Azerbaijan will come to Europe and that Azerbaijan wants to become Turkey's second biggest gas supplier. “We managed to… implement this giant TANAP project… with joint companies. Though it is the first time that we, as SOCAR, have implemented such a complex project beyond the country, we managed to effectively complete the construction works. We could complete the construction at a lower price than that predicted by the international consulting companies evaluating the project, and save the funds of both Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as BP, which are the shareholders of the pipeline,“ he said. 

“The TANAP project is yet another confirmation that Georgia has a very important role in the region to connect Asia and Europe…The realization of this project will bring further benefits to Georgia both in terms of energy independence and economics,” said the Prime Minister's Advisor for Strategic Communications Irakli Chikovani. Gakharia stated that the Georgian government’s challenge is rapid economic growth, creating new jobs and the safety of the country and noted that the TANAP serves the achievement of all these aims. “It is important for Georgia to fulfil the function and role of a bridge not only in economic, political, social and cultural terms, but also in terms of energy," he stated. Georgia will receive five percent of the transported gas as a share of transit from Azerbaijan to Turkey. 

Salih Yilmaz, a professor  at the Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University said the TANAP would open great opportunities. “The implementation of this project is undoubtedly in the interests of Europe, but at the same time, in the future, new potential suppliers in the gas market can also benefit from connecting to the gas pipeline,” he said. A similar view shared the Ukrainan economy expert Oleksandr Okhrimenko.  “Undoubtedly, this event increases… Europe’s [interest] in Azerbaijan as the only country in such a strategically important region as the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan is attractive to the EU not only as a supplier of energy resources, but also as a country that acts as the guarantor of Europe’s energy security,” he said. 

The TANAP is the central part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which will connect the giant Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan to Europe through the South Caucasus Pipeline, TANAP and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The pipeline is 1,841-kilometres long and passes through 20 Turkish provinces. The initial capacity of TANAP, which is the main segment of the Southern Gas Corridor, is 16 billion cubic meters of gas. Around six billion cubic meters of this gas will be supplied to Turkey, while the remaining volume - to Europe. After the completion of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) construction, gas will be supplied to Europe in early 2020. It is planned to increase the volume to 23 cubic meters every year. The share distribution of TANAP shareholders is as follows: Southern Gas Corridor CJSC - 51 percent, Botas - 30 percent, BP - 12 percent, SOCAR Turkey Enerji - 7 percent.