Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 20
By Seymur Aliyev - Trend:
The "Southern Gas Corridor" project and other energy projects being implemented in Azerbaijan have global significance, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said at the 20th anniversary of the Contract of the Century and the Southern Gas Corridor groundbreaking ceremony in Baku on September 20.
"The joint projects being implemented by Azerbaijan and Turkey will contribute to peace in the region," he said. "Other countries must also understand the importance of these projects and exert joint efforts to implement them."
He said that significant changes have been recently occurring in the global energy sector.
"The world's energy map is being changed and the new players appear," Yildiz said.
He said that the world's recent events make the energy security even more important.
"Taking into account ensuring of energy security, Turkey will continue developing the relations with the countries-producers and consumers of energy resources, as well as transit countries," he said.
"One of the main common goals for us today is the transportation of Caspian gas to Europe," he said. "The Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) project is also one of the most important projects."
The minister expressed hope that other countries will join TANAP in the future.
"TANAP strengthens the ties not only between Azerbaijan and Turkey, but also with European countries," he said.
Signing of the "Contract of the Century" on September 20, 1994, which envisaged the development of a block of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil and gas fields in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, laid the foundation for the revival of this area and created the basis for signing a number of contracts for the development of onshore and offshore fields of the country.
The Southern Gas Corridor will allow Europe to diversify its hydrocarbon supply sources and strengthen energy security and also will allow Azerbaijan to obtain a new market in Europe.
On December 17, 2013, a final investment decision was made on the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz offshore gas and condensate field's development. The gas produced at this field will first go to the European market (10 billion cubic meters).
The gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of the field's development will be exported to Turkey and to the European markets by means of expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and construction of the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
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.
The share distribution among the participants of the agreement is as follows (after SOCAR and BP bought some Statoil share in the project): BP (operator) - 28.8 percent, Statoil - 15.5 percent, NICO - 10 percent, Total - 10 percent, Lukoil - 10 percent, TPAO - 9 percent, SOCAR - 16.7 percent. Earlier, "Total" sold its stake in the project of the Turkish TPAO. After the transaction is over, the share of Turkish TPAO in the project will be 19 percent.