Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
There are very little prospects of Iranian gas flowing through the Southern Gas Corridor, Professor Jonathan Stern, distinguished research fellow at Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, told Trend.
“The Iranian government has said that when it has available gas supply – which it presently does not – it will prioritize first the region (Iraq, Pakistan, Oman) and second LNG exports,” he said.
Stern pointed out that at current prices in Europe, Iranian gas will not be profitable and will provide a far lower return than using the gas domestically either in power, petrochemicals and reinjection in the oil sector.
Iran has announced repeatedly about its willingness to export natural gas (methane) to European markets via pipeline or LNG. Iran has a semi-finished LNG plant, suspended mid-2000s due to sanctions, but hasn’t re-launched the plant yet. The capacity of project is 10.4 million tons per year of liquefaction of natural gas.
Iran also have to construct a $6 billion 1800-km pipeline, stretched from South Pars to Turkey borders.
Then it may be able to supply gas to TANAP, connected to TAP in Europe in case the shareholders of projects show green light.
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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