Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.16
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Trans-Balkan pipeline infrastructure could be used to carry Southern Gas Corridor gas to Ukraine, Charles Ellinas, CEO of Cyprus-based energy consultancy e-CNHC told Trend.
Earlier, ambassador of Ukraine to Azerbaijan Vladislav Kanevsky said that his country would like to be a participant of the Southern Gas Corridor.
“Azerbaijan is becoming an increasingly strong player also in the context of energy. Ukraine would like to take part in the Southern Gas Corridor project,” he said.
Kanevsky noted that Azerbaijan can deliver its fuel to EU countries through Ukraine.
“The obvious choice is the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, now carrying Russian gas through Ukraine to Turkey. Once TurkStream is up and running, probably next year, this pipeline could become free. It could be used to carry Southern Gas Corridor gas to Ukraine,” said Ellinas.
The expert noted that the pipeline would need modifications to enable reverse flow, such as boosting compression and upgrading metering stations.
“And of course new gas transit agreements involving the transiting countries Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova. The problem also is that Bulgaria intends to use part of Trans-Balkan to carry TurkStream 2 gas to Serbia and Hungary. But this is still facing challenges. Another complication is that until TurkStream 2 is up and running, probably by 2022, some Russian gas will continue flowing to Bulgaria and Greece through the Trans-Balkan pipeline,” said Ellinas.
There are no easy choices, but conceivably Trans-Balkan gas pipeline infrastructure could be used to carry Southern Gas Corridor gas to Ukraine, the expert explained.
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) were connected on the Turkish-Greek border.
The International Gas Union (IGU) was founded in 1931. It is a worldwide non-profit organisation registered in Vevey, Switzerland with the Secretariat currently located in Barcelona, Spain.
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