Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 18
By Maksim Tsurkov – Trend:
No problems are expected in financing the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project in 2017, Shahmar Movsumov, executive director of Azerbaijan’s state oil fund SOFAZ, said at a press conference in Baku Apr. 18.
“SOFAZ didn’t allocate funds for the Southern Gas Corridor in the first quarter of this year. However, funds are envisaged in the annual budget, but the question whether these funds will be used still remains open. I can say with certainty that the funds for expenditures of the SGC projects are at the disposal of the Southern Gas Corridor CJSC. Therefore, this year there will be no problems with financing,” noted Movsumov.
“Moreover, negotiations continue for financing the Southern Gas Corridor in the next two years. I think contracts will be signed by the end of the year and the Fund’s Supervisory Board will approve them. So, we don’t expect any problems with the financing of the Southern Gas Corridor,” he added.
The State Oil Fund’s 2017 budget envisages expenditures worth 496.155 million manats for financing the state’s share in the projects of the Southern Gas Corridor CJSC.
SOFAZ allocated more than $1.23 billion or 1.53 billion Azerbaijani manats for the SGC project in 2014-2016.
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of gas from the Caspian 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.
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