Baku, Azerbaijan, July 17
Trend:
A three-member advisory panel including former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is being set up to guide the Southern Gas Corridor project, designed to transport gas from the Caspian Sea to the EU's countries, Nefte Compass reported.
The Southern Corridor Advisory Panel is in the process of being finalized but is also set to include former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher and the chairman of global investment bank Goldman Sachs, Peter Sutherland, who is a former chairman of BP.
According to one insider, the panel is being set up by the 11 companies involved in the southern corridor, including BP, SOCAR and Statoil, to advise on the "political, environmental and societal challenges" during the four-five year execution phase of the project.
"They will meet a couple of times a year, or more if there is a specific need," the insider said.
According to another insider, the panel will address all the nontechnical risks."
The panel is being set up as a private, "internal" advisory body, whose deliberations will not be made public, according to the insiders.
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 Azerbaijani 'Shah Deniz' offshore gas and condensate field's development. The gas produced at this field will go to the European market.
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).