Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.22
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Azerbaijani government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed loan and guarantee agreements on allocation of $524.5 million worth syndicated loan to Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor CJSC to support the second stage of development of Shah Deniz gas and condensate field, Trend has learned from Southern Gas Corridor CJSC.
From the Azerbaijani side, the guarantee agreement was signed by the country’s Finance Minister Samir Sharifov and the loan agreement was signed by Director General of Southern Gas Corridor CJSC Afgan Isayev.
Afgan Isayev noted that such leading international financial institutions as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Asian Development Bank have already provided support to the Southern Gas Corridor project.
Up to now, Southern Gas Corridor CJSC has invested $8.4 billion (or 73 percent) of the total of around $11.5 billion (total funding needs until 2020 inclusively) required for the financing of its participating interests in the Projects, he said.
He noted that the work on Shah Deniz Stage 2 (production of first gas) is 98.5 percent complete, while the work on the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion project (transportation of first gas) is 99.2 percent complete. Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) projects are 87.4 percent and 60.8 percent complete, respectively, added Isayev.
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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