Baku, Azerbaijan Feb.29
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
The Southern Gas Corridor project is of strategic importance not only for Azerbaijan, but also for many countries, including Europe, Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Natig Aliyev said.
He made the remarks during the press conference following the second meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council in Baku Feb. 29.
"Therefore, the Advisory Council was created to coordinate all the projects within the Southern Gas Corridor," said the minister.
Natig Aliyev noted that the agenda of today's meeting was very broad, adding that detailed information was provided during the event.
"Each country expressed its opinion and discussed its role in the project," said Aliyev. "We discussed the work to be done in 2016."
The meeting was attended by EU Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic and the Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs of the US State Department Amos Hochstein.
Their participation shows that both the EU and the US strongly support and show great interest in this project, he said,
The minister also emphasized Turkey's special role in the Southern Gas Corridor project.
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for EU. It envisages transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe through Georgia and Turkey.
At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.
As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.