BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec.30
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Southern Gas Corridor has excess capacity, which can be significantly enlarged by adding new compressor stations, Vice President of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR Elshad Nassirov said, Trend reports.
He told Nikkei Asia that in the future, Azerbaijan can supply more from Caspian gas resources like the upcoming Absheron field, where the company is planning to start production with French Total as early as next year, or even from ACG oil fields' deep gas reservoir, the operation of which Azerbaijan is currently negotiating with Itochu and Inpex of Japan, among other players.
However, in order to tap the full potential of the new gas corridor, he would like participation from other regions, such as countries in Central Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean.
"As all five Caspian littoral states finally signed the convention of legal status of the Caspian Sea in 2018, there are no obstacles left to build new pipelines in the Caspian Sea, connecting their gas to this new corridor," Nassirov said.
Nassirov said with the convention, an independent environmental assessment report would suffice to start new pipeline projects in the sea.
"Littoral states like Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and even [non-littoral] Uzbekistan were waiting for the first link to the markets. Hence, the volume of gas from the region will increase substantially in years to come," Nassirov said, expressing hope for additional gas arrivals to the new route.
"Turkmenistan is only 300 km from Azerbaijan," Nassirov said.
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