Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 12
By Seymur Aliyev - Trend:
Azerbaijani gas will be the only new source of gas for Europe in the future - this statement by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev was made at the first meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor in Baku, and is in fact the answer to all the questions that have arisen on this project in recent years.
The meeting in Baku was aimed at answering all the questions of the participants in the project, the transit countries and the buyers of Azerbaijani gas, as well as to confirm the constancy of Baku's political will despite the global crisis and decline in oil prices.
This meeting is also no less important for Europe itself. Today, when Russia declares its readiness to supply about 50 billion cubic meters of gas to the southern borders of Europe, the EU needs to increase the purchase of gas from the really alternative sources, such as Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. This will allow Brussels to significantly strengthen its position in negotiations with Moscow.
The Vice President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic, who is in charge of the Energy Union, also confirmed it. Following the meeting in Baku, he said that Europe considers doubling (up to $20 billion cubic meters per year) of purchase volumes of gas on the Southern Gas Corridor.
Today, the proven gas reserves of Azerbaijan amount to more than 2.5 trillion cubic meters of gas. New fields - Absheron, Umid, Babak structures and others are being prepared to be developed on the sea shelf of the Azerbaijan Republic. Guarantees are needed for the delivery of this gas to Europe.
The Turkmen gas is also important for Europe. However, as Azerbaijan repeatedly stated, the country is ready to provide full assistance to the supply of Turkmen gas through its territory and implement its transit, but Europe must resolve the issue with Turkmenistan itself.
Today one can say with confidence that there are no barriers for the supply of Azerbaijani gas to Europe. However, the EU's desire to increase the purchase volumes of gas on the Southern Gas Corridor opens up new prospects for Azerbaijan.
In any case, the Southern Gas Corridor, initiated by Azerbaijan, today has turned into a project of international significance, aimed at ensuring energy security of Europe and that involves a large number of regional states and EU countries. This once again confirms the importance of Azerbaijan not only as a leader of the region, but also the state which contributes to the security of the entire Eurasian continent.
Edited by CN
Seymur Aliyev is the head of Trend Agency's Russian News Service
