Baku, Azerbaijan, May 11
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
Southern Gas Corridor CJSC intends to attract $7 billion worth of investments, Rovnag Abdullayev, president of Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR, told reporters May 11 in Baku.
Abdullayev noted that the work is being conducted with a lot of banks for this purpose.
"Southern Gas Corridor has already attracted $1 billion thanks to the placement of eurobonds," said Abdullayev, adding that it is expected to attract additional $1.5 billion by the end of 2016.
"In general, we are working with the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in this regard," said Abdullayev.
The EIB is expected to allocate $1.12 billion for the project. Moreover, on July 7, the Board of Directors of the World Bank (WB) will approve the allocation of a loan worth $1 billion for Turkey to finance the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline's (TANAP) construction.
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of gas from the Caspian Sea region to the European countries 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.
Edited by SI
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov