Baku, Azerbaijan, March 26
By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:
The commitment to implementing the Southern Gas Corridor continued to be of utmost importance for EU-Azerbaijan dialogue, said the EU report on Azerbaijan's progress within the European Neighbourhood Policy.
"Azerbaijan made good progress in its macroeconomic development, not least through its efforts to further diversify the economy," said the EU.
The report said that in 2014, the EU-Azerbaijan bilateral trade amounted to 16.7 billion euros and the EU remained Azerbaijan's main trading partner.
The Southern Gas Corridor project envisages transportation of gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.
This large project aims at diversifying the routes and sources of energy supply that will enhance the energy security of Europe. The Southern Gas Corridor project will ensure Caspian gas supply to the European markets for the first time in history.
At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the second phase of development of Azerbaijani gas condensate Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor project. At a later stage, other sources may join the project.
The gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of the field's development will be exported to Turkey and to the European markets by means of expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and construction of the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). Around six billion cubic meters of the total volume of gas within the Shah Deniz-2 project will be delivered to Turkey and 10 billion cubic meters to Europe per year.
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