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Azerbaijan's untapped gas resources may expand Southern Gas Corridor: draft declaration

Oil&Gas Materials 2 February 2019 12:23 (UTC +04:00)
Significant untapped gas resources in Azerbaijan can provide additional gas supplies to Europe.
Azerbaijan's untapped gas resources may expand Southern Gas Corridor: draft declaration

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.2

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

Significant untapped gas resources in Azerbaijan can provide additional gas supplies to Europe, Trend reports citing the draft joint declaration expected to be signed during the 5th meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor to be held on February 20 in Baku.

The draft declaration reads that all remaining segments of the Southern Gas Corridor are nearing completion, with the first gas to Italy expected to be supplied by 2020.

“We declare that the Southern Gas Corridor has achieved significant progress and we maintain our effort to ensure its timely completion enabling delivery of natural gas to Europe by 2020,” says the document.

The declaration recognizes the strategic role of Azerbaijan as a key enabler of the Southern Gas Corridor in the efforts to deliver secure, sustainable, competitive and affordable energy to consumers in Georgia, the Republic of Turkey and Europe and appreciates the investments of Azerbaijan and International Energy Companies in the components of the Southern Gas Corridor, including in Europe itself.

Moreover, the document recognizes that significant untapped gas resources in Azerbaijan can provide additional gas supplies to Europe and recognizes the decision of Azerbaijan and investing companies to facilitate development of Absheron, Umid, Babek, Karabakh, Dan Ulduzu, Ashrafi, Shah Deniz III and other fields to continue to supply and possibly expand the Southern Gas Corridor.

“We welcome the interest of potential additional new suppliers of natural gas to use the Southern Gas Corridor to further diversify natural gas supplies to Europe and to other countries; and encourage discussions to ship additional gas supplies to Europe,” reads the declaration.

It is envisaged that the Joint Declaration will be endorsed by representatives of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Bulgaria, Georgia, the Hellenic Republic, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Turkey, the Republic of Croatia, Montenegro, Romania, San-Marino, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union.

The first meeting of the SGC Advisory Council was held on February 12, 2015, the second meeting - on February 29, 2016, the third meeting - on February 23, 2017, the fourth meeting - on February 15, 2018.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority projects for the EU and envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.

The launching ceremony of the first stage of the Southern Gas Corridor was held in Baku on May 29, 2018, while opening ceremony of TANAP was held on June 12, 2018 in the Turkish city of Eskisehir.

The gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already gone through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - from the Sangachal terminal to the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline.

Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) have been recently connected on the Turkish-Greek border.

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn

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