Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 17
By Gulgiz Muradova - Trend:
Poland supports the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor as a means to supply south-east Europe with gas alternative to the dominant Russian supplier, said Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski.
Waszczykowski, talking to Trend ahead of his Baku visit, stressed that his country looks forward to Azerbaijan contribution, thanks to its raw material potential, to the deepening of Europe's energy security.
"The Southern Gas Corridor will allow 10 billion cubic metres of Caspian gas per year to be exported from Caspian Region to European countries. It is not a big volume, but it is the foundation for further expansion and cooperation," he said.
The minister said that the common goal should be both to promote Azerbaijani energy independence and to seek new sources of gas for the Southern Gas Corridor, which will further strengthen its real potential for diversification in south-east Europe currently dominated by the Russian supplier.
The $40 billion Southern Gas Corridor is an EU initiative to reduce Europe’s dependency on Russian gas.
The SGC project –a series of pipelines which will carry Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas to Europe – is a unique project opening up route for Caspian energy sources. As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans Adriatic Pipeline.
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