By Margarita Antidze
TBILISI, March 25 (Reuters) - British oil major BP expects to sign a deal with the Trans-Anatolian Natural GasPipeline (TANAP) project within two months to become astakeholder in the multi-billion dollar project that aims toreduce Europe's reliance on Russian gas.
Chris Schlueter, BP country manager for Georgia, toldReuters on Wednesday that all main documents were signed lastweek.
"We are very, very close ... That has been very goodprogress over the last week and a half ... I think (we will signthe deal) within the next two months," Schlueter said on thesidelines of the Georgian Oil, Gas, Energy and Infrastructureconference in the capital Tbilisi.
BP said in 2013 it wanted a 12 percent stake in the TANAPproject. Azeri firm SOCAR holds a 58 percent stake in TANAP,while Turkish pipeline firm Botas raised its stake to 30 percentfrom 20 percent in 2014.
TANAP envisages carrying 16 billion cubic metres (bcm) ofgas a year from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz II field in the CaspianSea, one of the world's largest gas fields, which is beingdeveloped by a BP-led consortium.
The pipeline will run from the Turkish-Georgian border toTurkey's border with Bulgaria and Greece. The preliminary costof the pipeline has been estimated at $10-$11 billion.
Schlueter said the BP-led consortium was on track in Georgiaand Azerbaijan with its works on the project, despite thedecline in global oil prices.
"Of course, we are tightening our belts ... But there is nochange to commitments in our operations," he said.
He added the consortium planned to spend about $6 billion in2015 on the Shah Deniz II and the South Caucasus PipelineExpansion (SCPX) projects.
The TANAP project was inaugurated last week and the 1,850 km(1,150 mile) pipeline's construction is expected to be completedby the end of 2018 and start deliveries of gas from Shah DenizII to Europe in 2019. (Editing by Mark Potter)