Details added (first version posted on 17:56)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 15
By Maksim Tsurkov – Trend:
A number of important decisions were made during the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council in Baku, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said.
He was speaking at a press conference following the meeting in Baku on Feb. 15.
The minister said the meeting participants discussed issues related to implementation of the SGC project over the past year and the work to be carried out this year, and a number of important decisions were made.
Shahbazov said all the components of the SGC project were separately discussed in details by the meeting participants.
“Implementation of all the components of the SGC project is at the satisfactory level and is carried out in line with the schedule according to which Azerbaijani gas will be supplied to Turkey in mid-2018 and to Europe in 2020,” he noted. “Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also took part in the meeting and gave a number of instructions and advice on the project’s further implementation.”
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority projects for the EU and provides for the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.
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 Shah Deniz Stage 2, 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 (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).