BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 19
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Exports from the Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan to the European Union are expected to increase in a 4-6 bcm range in 2021, Trend reports with reference to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
“With the commercial start of the TAP pipeline in mid-November, first deliveries of Azerbaijani natural gas reached Greece and Bulgaria via the Nea Mesimvria interconnection point, and in Italy via the Melendugno interconnection point on 31 December 2020.
Gas production in Azerbaijan increased by over 6 percent y-o-y in the first eleven months of 2020. Its gas exports to Turkey expanded by an impressive 25 percent over the first eight months of 2020, as gas flows through the TANAP pipeline continued to ramp up. Azerbaijani deliveries grew at a more moderate rate of 6 percent y-o-y in the September-October period, amid increasing competition from Russian gas,” said IEA.
The Southern Gas Corridor, which is comprised of Shah Deniz 2, the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion, the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) became fully operational on December 31, 2020.
Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) AG confirmed on Dec. 31 the commencement of gas flows from Azerbaijan. The first gas has reached Greece and Bulgaria, via the Nea Mesimvria interconnection point with DESFA, as well as Italy, via the Melendugno interconnection point with SNAM Rete Gas (SRG).
TAP transports natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe. The 878 km long pipeline connects with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border in Kipoi, crosses Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.
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