SOCAR replaces Statoil in South Caucasus gas pipeline
By Gulgiz Dadashova
Azerbaijan’s energy giant SOCAR has become the commercial operator of the South Caucasus gas pipeline through which Azerbaijan currently sells its gas to Georgia and Turkey. Gas is extracted at the Shah Deniz field.
SOCAR has replaced the Norwegian Statoil company, which left the
project by selling its share to the Malaysian Petronas
company.SOCAR also assumed the operatorship of Azerbaijan Gas
Supply Company (AGSC).
Statoil sold its 15.5-percent share in the Shah Deniz project to
Petronas.
The cost of the deal, including a 15.5 percent share in the South
Caucasus Pipeline Company (SCPC) and a 12.4 percent share in the
Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company (AGSC), is $2.25 billion.
The 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.
The gas will be exported to Turkey and the European markets by
expanding the South Caucasus gas pipeline and constructing the
Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) gas pipelines
within the second stage of the field development. The first gas
will be supplied to Turkey in 2018, while to Europe - in 2019.
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