Speaking yesterday at the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Committee Meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız said that they will unwaveringly maintain the Southern Gas Corridor project, which also encompasses the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), and that other projects to be launched in the future will in no way disturb the resolution of this project. Speaking at the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Committee Meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, Yıldız said that Turkey is resolute on the Southern Gas Corridor project in both political and economic terms. Referring to the project's economic size of $45 billion, Yıldız highlighted that the Southern Gas Corridor is one of the most important projects for EU countries' supply of natural gas. Saying Turkey is continuing the Shah Deniz-2 project by increasing its share in it, Yıldız explained that the TANAP project, which constitutes one of the arms of the Southern Gas Corridor, is progressing faster than the scheduled time, adding that the pipe's supply, tenders and expropriation processes are running faster than what was determined in the road map."The rings of a chain should be tightly linked to each other. If any ring remains uncompleted, this means that the whole chain remains uncompleted. Therefore, each country along the corridor should make the strongest contribution in favor of this project," Yıldız emphasized, and said that Turkey will offer all the advantages arising from its geography to neighboring countries and EU member states without exploiting any of these advantages. Turkey's gross national product (GDP) has tripled and all items related to energy have doubled in the last 12 years, he said. Stressing that Turkey's contribution to the Southern Gas Corridor will increasingly continue with TANAP, Yıldız said the TANAP's groundbreaking ceremony will be held in March and attended by presidents and other dignitaries. He also underscored that their positive attitude toward the project will continue. "This is a project that was created as a result of great efforts. Here, we need to build a structure that will [transport] 31 billion cubic meters [of natural gas], apart from Turkey's need for 6 billion cubic meters [of natural gas]," he said. TANAP has a potential capacity to be upgraded as well, which is how it is planned to reach the 31 billion-cubic-meter goal by 2026.Underscoring that simultaneity is as important as determination, Yıldız stressed that each country should complete the production and distribution chains simultaneously by the end of 2018. Yıldız also expressed his belief that this chain of projects will constitute a very strong structure with TANAP, saying that Turkey will continue to pursue resolute energy policies and strategies and that the development of any other project will never disturb the project.Touching on the fact Turkey has several energy projects that have already been planned or are under construction, Yıldız added: "We are dealing with other projects, but the TANAP and Shah Deniz-2 projects are important projects that we are undertaking with our brother Azerbaijan." As a partner of the TANAP project, the government is working to complete the pipeline before the deadline, while also holding talks with the Russian state-owned natural gas giant Gazprom for possible routes for a so-called "Turkish Stream" pipeline, whose name originates from the cancelled South Stream project that was supposed to provide natural gas to Europe from Russia via Bulgaria. According to Yıldız, there will not be the slightest deterioration or hesitation concerning Turkey's political, technical and economic commitment in the TANAP project. The details of the Turkish Stream project that will be built in collaboration with Russia will also be shared with the public in the coming months. As part of the meeting, Yıldız also met European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, U.S. Special Representative Amos Hochstein, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natig Aliyev and Greece's Environment, Energy and Climate Change Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis.