US investment company Apollo Funds is purchasing a 25% share of BP’s stake in the Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline (TANAP), the longest leg of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) pipeline system which transports gas to Europe across Turkey from the Caspian Sea.
Apollo’s nearly $1 billion investment to acquire a noncontrolling share in BP TANAP’s 12% stake in the pipeline spanning Turkey east to west enables BP “to realize value and unlock capital from infrastructure while retaining strategic governance rights in the pipeline joint venture,” BP said in a news release announcing the deal on 21 March.
“Proceeds arising from this transaction will contribute towards BP’s program for $20 billion in divestment and other proceeds,” the release noted.
BP keeps its controlling stake in TANAP including long-term commercial and strategic interests and rights to manage the pipeline. TANAP is integral to the gas value chain at BP’s Shah Deniz gas field, one of the world’s largest gas condensate fields, located in deepwater offshore Azerbaijan, the company said.
The SGC holds a controlling 51% interest in TANAP with Turkey’s state-owned pipeline company BOTAŞ (30%), BP Pipelines (TANAP) Ltd. (12%), and Azerbaijan’s SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.Ş. (7%).
The deal is expected to close in 2Q 2025 pending regulatory and TANAP shareholders approvals.
TANAP spans nearly 1800 km across Turkey. It is the central section of the SGC pipeline system which originates at BP-operated Shah Deniz in the Caspian Sea.
In November 2024 Apollo and BP closed on a separate but similar agreement in which Apollo agreed to partner with BP on its share of SGC’s final 880-km leg, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) which meets TANAP at the Turkish-Greek border and transports gas for further export to Italy across Greece and Albania.
Under this agreement, Apollo Funds purchased a non-controlling stake in BP Pipelines TAP Ltd., which holds 20% of TAP. The investment also unlocks approximately $1 billion of invested capital while leaving BP in control of its pipeline subsidiary within the larger SGC structure.
Five partners hold 20% stakes each in TAP’s operator, Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG, including BP, SOCAR, energy infrastructure companies Snam (Italy) and Enagás (Spain), and Belgium’s gas transmission and storage company Fluxys.
Skardon Baker, Apollo partner, commented, “We see significant potential with our scaled, long-term capital to partner with BP, in alignment with their strategic objectives” which include infrastructure, gas, and low-carbon energy assets.
