BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 22
By Khagan Isayev – Trend:
The signing of new agreements on the purchase of additional volumes of Azerbaijani gas through the Southern Gas Corridor may begin in late 2022 - early 2023, the head of the Azerbaijan Oil Research Center Ilham Shaban told Trend.
According to Shaban, at present, the countries of Eastern Europe - Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, as well as five republics of Yugoslavia and Albania are showing interest in purchasing Azerbaijani gas through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
"Connecting new countries to the pipeline is not an easy process. It's important to know that even in 2016-2017, the construction of pumping and compressor stations on the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) cost each participant in the Southern Gas Corridor $500 million. However, Georgia's accession to the Southern Gas Corridor cost $1 billion, since the pipeline passes through the mountainous part of the country," the expert said.
Shaban believes that by the beginning of 2023, Azerbaijan can sign new contracts with European countries for the sale of additional gas volumes through TAP.
On December 31, 2020, supplies of Azerbaijani gas to Europe began via the Southern Gas Corridor. For the first time in history, Azerbaijan exported its natural gas to the European market via pipelines. Azerbaijan, with direct access to the European market, which is the largest importer of natural gas in the world, has diversified its export opportunities.
It is noted that TAP, which is the European part of the Southern Gas Corridor, will annually supply eight billion cubic meters of gas to Italy and one billion cubic meters each to Greece and Bulgaria.