BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 12. The Southern Gas Corridor, which carries Azerbaijani gas to Italy via Turkey, would have large excess capacity if some compressors are added to the system, said Turkey’s deputy energy and natural resources minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Trend reports.
Speaking to Japan-based Nikkei news agency, the deputy minister noted that Turkey is also keen to develop its own natural gas. Recent finds in the Black Sea will enter use in 2023 and reach a plateau in the 2025-26 period, he added.
Bayraktar went on to add that Turkey currently consumes around 60 billion cu. meters annually, which means more offshore research in the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean is needed.
The deputy minister believes that there is no immediate solution to finding a substitute for Russian energy.
Even if such fresh supplies via pipelines are secured in the long term, he said, they will constitute only about one-fourth of the 155 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas supplied annually to Europe.
He also noted Turkey's proximity to Israel's offshore gas. With just a 550 km pipeline to the southern Turkish shores, gas can be swapped with Europe once it reaches Turkish soil, he proposed.
Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor began on December 31, 2020. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the European leg of the Corridor, has recently reached the milestone of 10 billion cubic meters, which is the pipeline's full capacity. TAP's may be expanded to transport 20 billion cubic meters of gas per year, a decision that can be made after market tests.
To date, Azerbaijan’s gas exports to Europe via TAP have reached 10.9 billion cubic meters.
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