BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 13
By Ilhama Isabalayeva – Trend:
The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is the successful result of years of hard work, Azerbaijani expert-economist Eldaniz Amirov told Trend.
According to Amirov, the 7-th meeting of the SGC Advisory Council, held on Feb. 12 through videoconference, was of great importance, as it was the first such meeting after the completion of this major project, when it was important to consider achievements and discuss prospects.
“The active participation in these discussions of ministers and high-ranking representatives of 18 countries, heads of 5 leading financial institutions of the world and various companies testified to the relevance of the meeting. The first corridor contract was signed 9 years ago in mid-2012. The corridor, thousands of kilometers long, was built through systematic cooperation and close interaction between governments, international organizations, financial institutions, operators of production and transport systems and other institutions,” said the expert.
The economist noted that the SGC project combines such diverse elements as the full-scale development of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field, the expansion of the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline (SCP), the implementation of the Trans Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic (TAP) gas pipelines projects.
The main goal of the project was to start the next second stage of development at the giant Shah Deniz gas condensate field, to ensure the transportation of gas produced in the second stage through the South Caucasus gas pipeline, TANAP and TAP, he added.
“At the first stages of this process, the export direction is Turkey and Southern Europe. From the next stages, after the start of full-scale development of the Shah Deniz field, the supply of Azerbaijani gas will enhance the energy security of Europe. Consequently, the project should be seen as a new and critical system that will ensure a safe, reliable and competitive supply for Europe,” Amirov noted.
“At the same time, this corridor will create ample opportunities to increase production at existing fields, as well as give impetus to the discovery of new ones. Along with this, this corridor will play an extremely important role in the implementation of production volumes at the Dostlug field, which will be developed on the basis of a memorandum signed with Turkmenistan,” the expert added.