Baku, Azerbaijan, July 31
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
Direct supply of Azerbaijani gas to the Czech Republic would be very welcomed, Jiri Havlicek, the Czech minister of industry and trade, said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
The minister noted that the Czech Republic supports both the diversification of natural gas sources and routes of gas transportation to the European Union in order to increase the energy security.
“In this sense, the Southern Gas Corridor and especially the TAP and TANAP pipelines have been appreciated several times by the Czech side,” said Havlicek.
“From a general point of view, the future possibility of physical presence of gas from Azerbaijan sites in Central Europe or directly in the Czech Republic would be very welcomed. However, we are aware of the fact that, in addition to the Southern Gas Corridor project, it will be necessary to also complete a follow up gas infrastructure located outside the Czech Republic to realize this option. This is in particular the North-South Gas Interconnection and it will also be necessary for such gas to be competitive on a fully liberalized gas market in the Czech Republic,” added the minister.
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.