Southern Gas Corridor important for Europe’s energy security: SOCAR
By Aynur Jafarova
The Southern Gas Corridor can catalyze the development of connecting pipelines in Southern Europe.
The news was announced by Deputy Vice-President of Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR Vitaliy Baylarbayov on March 31.
He made the remark during a presentation of the Southern Gas Corridor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Baylarbayov emphasized the significance of the Southern Gas Corridor in ensuring Europe's energy security.
The presentation was attended by U.S. government officials, academics, and energy professionals based in Washington.
Baylarbayov also presented the project in Houston at CERAWeek, one of the energy industry's main forums for business leaders and government officials.
He gave a lecture on the Southern Gas Corridor to faculty and students from all around the world at the Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
The gas which will be produced in the second stage of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field development will be the main source of the Southern Gas Corridor, which envisages the transportation of the Caspian gas to the European markets.
The Shah Deniz consortium announced the selection of TAP as the main route for transporting its gas to Europe in late June. Another pipeline which was vying for Azerbaijan's gas transportation to Europe was Nabucco West.
The selection of TAP marked the start of implementing the Southern Gas Corridor project that will allow Europe to diversify its supply sources and increase energy security, and enable Azerbaijan to acquire a new market-Europe.