Azerbaijani, Bulgarian presidents talk gas supplies, direct flights
President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev phoned President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
The press service of the Azerbaijani president said in a message that President Radev congratulated his Azerbaijani counterpart on the occasion of the New Year and wished success in his activity.
The Bulgarian president also expressed his gratitude to President Aliyev for the direct flight from Baku to Sofia that will be opened soon, and expressed his confidence that it will contribute to the strengthening of relations between the two countries.
Expressing his gratitude for the attention and congratulations, President Aliyev, for his part, conveyed greetings to President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev on the occasion of the New Year.
Touching upon the Southern Gas Corridor project, the Bulgarian president emphasized its importance in terms of diversification of Europe's gas supplies and Azerbaijan's crucial role in this project.
Radev added that his country is interested in Azerbaijan's participation in gas supplies to Bulgaria.
President Aliyev noted that the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project is being continued successfully, the TANAP project is expected to be completed in 2018 and the Azerbaijani gas will be delivered to Bulgaria in the near future.
During the phone conversation, President Radev invited President Aliyev to pay an official visit to Bulgaria.
President Aliyev accepted the invitation with gratitude.
PROKON successfully delivers project for SOCAR Polymer
PROKON company has announced the accomplishment of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works at Conditioning Facility within PP/HDPE (Polypropylene/High density polyethylene) Project for SOCAR Polymer.
The conditioning facility is located at the east site of the PP and HDPE Plant in Sumgait and designed for the storage of end products with the overall building size of 84 x 176 m. and internal minimum height of 6 m, said the message from the company.
The project started in August 2016 and covered engineering, procurement, construction, fabrication and erection of steel structures, as well as obtaining permits from local authorities. Within the project, PROKON successfully accomplished Site Preparation, Civil Work and Earthworks phases with engineering, excavation, backfill, demolition, dewatering and protective barriers installation works.
PROKON reported on more than 350,000 man-hours without lost time injury (LTI) at SOCAR Polymer Conditioning Facility project. Clear guideline set by management and commitment of the project team to a safe culture with a strong focus on Golden Safety Rules made this achievement possible.
PROKON was established as a construction and project management subsidiary of Nobel Oil Services in 2012 to become one of the leading local construction companies capable to deliver large-scale downstream projects. Most recent projects of PROKON include construction of SOCAR Ammonia & Urea Plant, Tank Erection works, etc.
Total cost of SOCAR Polymer is $750 million. At the first stage, its production capacity will total 120,000 tons of polyethylene and 180,000 tons of polypropylene. The total capacity may reach 570,000 tons by 2021.
WB near completing TANAP financing
As of Jan. 1, 2018, the World Bank (WB) allocated $667.27 million or 83.4 percent of the loan envisaged for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), according to the statistics published on the bank's website.
The beneficiaries of a $800 million loan, approved by the WB Board of Directors on Dec. 20, 2016 are Southern Gas Corridor CJSC (Azerbaijan) and BOTAS (Turkey).
"TANAP not only will boost competitiveness and create new economic opportunities for Azerbaijani and Turkish people, but will also support regional trade and energy security of Turkey and Europe," the WB told Azernews.
The WB said the project will help Azerbaijan to diversify its gas sales markets and Turkey - to secure its energy supply.
"It is one of the top priority infrastructure projects for Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and the countries in Southeast Europe," WB said. "Assistance in the implementation of such ambitious projects as TANAP reflects the commitment of the World Bank Group to support the countries' development priorities."
"The project contributes to the achievement of the WB's strategic objectives in partnership with Azerbaijan, in particular, integration of the country into regional and European energy markets," WB said.
TANAP project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field to the western borders of Turkey. The gas will be delivered to Turkey in 2018 and after completion of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline's construction natural gas will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.
The length of TANAP is 1,850 kilometers, with an initial capacity of 16 billion cubic meters of gas. Around six billion cubic meters of this gas is meant to be delivered to Turkey, with the remaining volume to be supplied to Europe.
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority projects for the EU and provides for the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.
At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.
As part of the Shah Deniz Stage 2, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
Azerbaijani oil prices reach highest since 2014
The price of the AZERI LT CIF oil, produced at the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli block of oil and gas fields, was $71.25 per barrel at the Italian port of Augusta on Jan. 10, that is $0.81 more than on Jan. 9, a source on Azerbaijan's oil and gas market told Trend.
The price of the AZERI LT CIF oil last exceeded $71 in October 2014.
The AZERI Light FOB Ceyhan oil price was $70.62 per barrel on Jan. 10, or $0.83 more than the previous price.
Azerbaijan has been producing AZERI LT since 1997 and exports it via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa pipelines, as well as by rail to the Georgian port of Batumi.
Azerbaijan also exports URALS oil from Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. The oil is delivered there via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline.
The price for URALS-NOVO was $68.05 per barrel on Jan. 10, or $0.89 more than the previous price.
The price for a barrel of Brent Dated, produced from the North Sea, stood at $69.94 on Jan. 10 or $0.82 more than the previous price.
SOCAR announces time of starting Shah Deniz 2 output
Azerbaijan plans to start gas output as part of the second stage of development of Shah Deniz gas and condensate field (Shah Deniz 2) this autumn, perhaps September, Natural Gas World (NGW) learned from Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR.
Shah Deniz 2 output will begin with a small amount initially, said a source in SOCAR.
The operator of the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) has announced that the gas injection tests into the Turkish pipe would be carried out in January, but an official told NGW that the gas source would be Shah Deniz 1, not Shah Deniz 2.
Moreover, a BP source told NGW that in 2019 Shah Deniz 2 is expected to produce 2 billion cubic meters which would all go to Turkey.
"Azerbaijan's total gas export to Turkey (Shah Deniz 1 and Shah Deniz 2) is expected to reach 8.5 billion cubic meters in 2019, compared with 6.5 billion cubic meters in 2017 and to reach its contractual 12.5 billion cubic meters in 2021," said a BP source.
As part of the Shah Deniz 2 project, gas production will increase from 9 to 25 billion cubic meters per year. The produced gas will be exported to Turkey and the European markets through the expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of the Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) gas pipelines.
A contract for development of the Shah Deniz offshore field was signed on June 4, 1996. The field's reserve is estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.