Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.11
By Emil Ismayilov - Trend:
The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan invested $2.164 billion in Southern Gas Corridor SJSC (Cenub Gaz Dehlizi) in the long term, SOFAZ`s official website reported.
The investments have been made through the purchase of Southern Gas Corridor CJSC bonds, which within two emissions issued debt securities in the amount of $917,320,800 dollars and $1,246,355,000.
The maturity date of the first issue of bonds is 10 years, and the second - 720 days (two years). The yield on the two issues of bonds totals six-month Libor plus one percent.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on Feb. 25 establishing a Closed Joint-Stock Company for the effective management of projects within the second phase of the Shah Deniz gas and condensate field's development and expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline, Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).The new company will be 51 percent state-owned and 49 percent owned by the State Oil company of Azerbaijan.
SOFAZ has been instructed to provide an equity financing for the CJSC, which is under direct state ownership. Funds to be provided to the company for financing the equity will provide a long term investment on return conditions.
Gas will be supplied as part of the Southern Gas Corridor - a project that will allow Europe to diversify its hydrocarbon source supply and increase energy security, while Azerbaijan continues to buy a new market in the face of Europe.
The final investment decision was made on the second phase of the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz offshore gas and condensate field's development on December 17, 2013. Some 10 billion cubic meters of gas from the field will be supplied to the European market.
The contract for development of the Shah Deniz offshore field, which has proven reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas, was signed on June 4, 1996.
Participants in the Shah Deniz field development are the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) with a share of 16.7 percent, British BP (28.8 percent), Norway's Statoil (15.5 percent), Iran's NICO (10 percent), French Total (10 percent), Russia's Lukoil (10 percent), Turkish TPAO (9 percent). Earlier, Total sold its share to Turkish TPAO and after completion of the transaction, the share of the latter will be 19 percent in the project.
Edited by CN