BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 9
Trend:
Southern Gas Corridor needs no rescue, economic expert, head of the Azerbaijan Oil Research Center Ilham Shaban told Trend commenting on some Russian analysts hinting at the possibility of ‘saving’ the corridor through the Iranian gas from Chalus field in the Caspian Sea.
"The Southern Gas Corridor doesn’t need to be ‘saved’. The current performance of the corridor is perfect. Five billion cubic meters of gas were forecasted to be transported via the corridor’s European segment – TAP [Trans-Adriatic Pipeline] alone, but according to the results of the first half of the year, we see that this plan has been exceeded,” he said.
“By the end of the year, Europe will receive at least 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan, which means that the pipeline is 75 percent full, and next year we expect reaching 100 percent of its design capacity. Such development of the project can be only highly appreciated,” the expert noted.
“The success of Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is beneficial for both shareholders and consumers," stressed Shaban, adding that the SGC is a big topic and should be discussed separately.
Recently Iran has announced the discovery of a large Chalus gas field (named from the city located nearby on the coast) in its sector of the Caspian Sea.