Principal shareholders, BP and BOTAS, in what has been billed as "the project of the century," got together this week in Ankara to sign the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP) Shareholder Agreement.

TANAP, which is expected to be operational in 2018, will comprise an 1850 km pipeline aiming to bring gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea to Turkey and ultimately into Europe.

The project will be key to diversifying the energy supply of Turkey and European Union countries. The shareholding percentages will be as follows, after the process of acquisition of shares is completed: Southern Gas Corridor Closed Joint Stock Company (SGC) 58 percent, BOTAS 30 percent, and BP 12 percent.