Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 15
By Maksim Tsurkov – Trend:
The UK supports early completion of the Southern Gas Corridor project, Baroness Rona Fairhead, the UK minister of state for trade and export promotion at the Department for International Trade (DIT), said.
Fairhead, who is also co-chairperson of Azerbaijan-UK intergovernmental commission, made the remarks at a meeting with Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, the country’s Energy Ministry said in a message Dec. 15.
At the meeting, the sides discussed relations between the two countries in the energy sphere, considered prospects for cooperation not only in oil and gas, but also in renewable energy sphere.
Shahbazov noted the long-term leading positions of the oil and gas sector in Azerbaijan’s economy and said that reforms are being held in Azerbaijan to diversify the economy and develop the non-oil sector.
The minister highly appreciated the UK’s activity as a partner of Azerbaijan and the main investor in the energy sector of the country from the first years of its independence, as well as the model of successful cooperation by the example of BP.
Implementation of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 project and signing of a new agreement on the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block will serve the interests of both countries in the long term, Shahbazov said.
In turn, Fairhead assured that the UK supports energy projects of Azerbaijan implemented with the participation of BP, including the Southern Gas Corridor project.
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.