BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 31. Europe supports the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor, the Head of the Directorate General for Energy of the European Union Cristina Lobillo Borrero said at the opening ceremony of the Baku Energy Week, Trend reports.
“Azerbaijan is a trusted and reliable energy partner to the European Union. In the past year in the European Union we took several measures to tackle the energy crisis. We have diversified our gas suppliers. In the challenging time that we’re experiencing, we saw Azerbaijan increase gas supplies to European Union market by 40 percent last year. It has been paramount to avoid the worst of the energy crisis and diversify away from Russian fuels. In this sense, we very much welcome the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor,” she said.
Southern Gas Corridor started transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe on December 31, 2020. It transports gas from the Caspian Sea region to European countries through Georgia and Türkiye.
The project’s cost totaled $33 billion, as compared to the forecast $45 billion. Capital expenditures on the SGC project are expected to be fully reimbursed within 8-10 years.
In July 2022, Azerbaijan and EU agreed to increase the volume of gas supplies via the Southern Gas Corridor from the current 10 bcm to 20 bcm by 2027.