Saturday, September 20 2014

Ceremony of the South Gas Corridor
to bring gas from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey and from there to Europe
was held in Baku.

 

According to Turan, this is a new gas pipeline to be
built from Azerbaijan to Georgia parallel to the existing pipeline
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline.  In
Georgia (Gardabani) new pipeline will be connected to the pump station and an
existing gas infrastructure, gas will go to Turkey.  Future pipeline TANAP (Trans) will deliver large volumes of gas
to Bulgaria and then through Greece and Albania to Italy (TAP - Transadriatic
pipeline.)

 

Opening ceremony with the participation of government
and public delegations from more than 10 countries, President Ilham Aliyev said
today lays down of the next energy mega-project, which will seriously affect a
significant impact on the fate of many countries and the entire region.

 

This pipeline will be a factor of energy security in
Europe, will have a positive impact on the economy and welfare of the countries
through which it passes.  Azerbaijan's
role in ensuring the energy security of Europe will increase." Proven
natural gas reserves in Azerbaijan make up 2.5 trillion cubic meters, and
projected - 4.5 trillion cube," he said.

 

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said that the
issue of fuel supply from Eastern Europe remains "weak point." The
ongoing crisis in Ukraine showed how many vulnerable countries in the
region.  "Bulgaria plans to buy one
billion cubic meters of gas through the Southern Gas Corridor, which will give
impetus to the economy, and the overall development of the country. At the same
time, Bulgaria will become an anchor in the country, where the pipeline would
go in several directions," he said and added that Sofia was in favor of
further expansion of gas infrastructure and the implementation of a global
project Nabucco.

 

Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili noted
that his country actively participates in and supports regional energy
projects. South gas corridor will further strengthen the energy security of the
country and to increase the role of Georgia as a transit country.  Tbilisi has proposed for the implementation
of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline and also that will deliver Turkmen gas to
European markets, he said.

 

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said, that his
country will pass through 275 km of pipeline TAP, through which gas will go
further. At the same time Greece will buy 275 million cubic meters of gas annually.
Speakers further representatives of Montenegro, Turkey, Norway, Albania, Italy,
Great Britain and the United States have noted the historical significance of
this project, which will become part of the unified energy system in Europe.

 

Chef British oil giant BP Robert Dudley noted that the
total length of the South  gas corridor
will be 3,600 km. That will affect the lives of millions of people. BP is proud
to have taken part in it, and the company's cooperation with Azerbaijan in the
framework of existing contracts will run until 2048. With a total investment of
BP in Azerbaijan 30 billion dollars.  President
of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev said that the
new gas pipe from the field "Shah Deniz" will come to Turkey in 2018,
and in Europe - in 2019 m.  According to
him, the total investment in the framework of the gas infrastructure projects
will be 45 billion dollars.

 

Azerbaijan plans to export to Europe annually 16
billion cube of gas and bring these volumes to 20 billion cube.