Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 5 / Trend, A. Badalova /
The commercial component will play an important role in the selection of the final route for the transport of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, general director of the Russian National Energy Institute Sergei Pravosudov said.
He said several factors will be taken into account while choosing between Nabucco West and TAP (Trans Adriatic Pipeline) projects, and the commercial side of the issue will be one of the main factors.
"The facts surrounding which countries are ready to buy Azerbaijani gas, and who is willing to pay the highest price will be taken into account ," Pravosudov told Trend.
Within the second stage of Shah Deniz gas condensate field's development Azerbaijan plans to export 10 billion cubic meters of gas a year to Europe.
Currently, a consortium for Shah Deniz development is considering two options for transportation of gas to Europe - Nabucco West and TAP pipelines which are included in the Southern Gas Corridor project.
The final choice between the two projects will be made in June 2013.
As for competition between the Southern Gas Corridor and the Russian South Stream project, Pravosudov believes that both of these projects will be implemented. In Pravosudov's opinion, these projects are different, especially from the point of view of the claimed gas supplies.
The design capacity of the South Stream is up to 63 billion cubic meters of gas a year whereas the original volume of the transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe is 10 billion cubic meters.
However, as noted by Pravosudov, Europe needs these 10 billion cubic meters of gas to diversify its sources of gas supply and to reduce dependence on Russian supplies.
Therefore, Pravosudov believes that the construction of the South Stream will not prevent the realization of the Southern Gas Corridor.
The Southern Gas Corridor is a priority energy project for the EU aimed at diversifying the routes and sources of its supply and thereby increasing European energy security. Gas which will be produced during the second phase of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field development is being considered for the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects.
The South Stream project includes the construction of a gas pipeline across the Black Sea to the South and Central European countries. It is expected that the pipeline's construction will be completed by 2015.
The design capacity of the South Stream is 63 billion cubic meters of gas per year, the estimated cost of the project is 8.6 billion euros.