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SGC easily expandable upon completion

8 June 2016 16:47 (UTC+04:00)
SGC easily expandable upon completion

By Fatma Babayeva

A remarkable progress has been observed in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), which is a pivotal project that envisages bringing gas all the way from the Caspian Sea into the European market.

The statement was made by Energy Union Vice-President Maros Sefcovic at the BDEW Congress 2016 in Berlin, which was published by European Commission’s website on June 8.

Recalling his participation in the inauguration ceremony of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) in Thessaloniki on May 17, Sefcovic noted that the pipeline is under construction on European soil, and the gas is expected to flow into Europe via TAP by 2020.

The vice president further emphasized that this will be the conclusion but not the end.

Once the route and the overall framework are tested, it will be easier to expand the SGC beyond the initial volumes of 10 billion cubic meters a year, he added.

The SGC project envisages the transportation of natural gas extracted at the giant Shah Deniz 2 field located in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea.

Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.

The pipeline network will stretch across 3,500 kilometer area from the Caspian Sea into the Europe via Turkey, Greece and Italy.

The SGC is comprised of three main pipelines. The existing South Caucasus pipeline will be expanded with a new parallel pipeline through Azerbaijan and Georgia. In addition, with the construction of Trans-Anatolian and Trans-Adriatic routes, the pipeline network will be further expanded to the EU.

TANAP will pass through Turkey to join TAP pipeline in the Greece border which will cross Greece, Albania and southern part of Italy.

First gas delivery to Georgia and Turkey is targeted for late 2018. Gas deliveries to Europe are expected a year after first gas is produced in offshore Azerbaijan.

The SGC is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. The realization of this pipeline project will contribute to enhancing the EU’s energy security and diversification of its gas supply routes.

The SGC is one of the biggest construction projects of our times with a value of $40 billion.

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Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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