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GECF: Southern Gas Corridor allows more integration of gas infrastructure

27 December 2018 09:50 (UTC+04:00)
GECF: Southern Gas Corridor allows more integration of gas infrastructure

By Leman Mammadova

Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, allows more integration of gas infrastructure, Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) told Trend.

Europe will increase its net imports of natural gas from 278 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2017 to 350 bcm in 2020 and 440 bcm in 2040, said the organization based on projections from GECF GGO 2018.

"With this import prospects, the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is an important option, in addition to other pipeline sources, that contributes in improving European energy security," said GECF.

SGC allows diversification of gas supply sources and routes targeting the European market, and supports the penetration of natural gas in Eastern Europe region, which presents a non-negligible potential of gas demand increase, the organization noted.

"SGC allows more integration of gas infrastructure since it offers the possibility to connect with other intra-European pipelines, and this enables to increase the availability of natural gas and its accessibility to European markets," said GECF.

GECF is an international intergovernmental organization. The main objectives of the organization include ensuring the sovereign rights of member countries on their own natural gas reserves and the ability to independently plan and ensure environmentally sustainable, careful and efficient development and use of gas in the interests of their people, the exchange of experience, opinions and information on key aspects of the gas industry development.

The Southern Gas Corridor, $ 40 billion worth project, envisages the transportation of gas to Turkey and Europe through the pipeline, which will be operated within the second stage of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field project in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.

Shah Deniz is a giant gas condensate field, reserves of which are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas and 240 million tons of condensates. Within the second stage of field development, the volume of gas production can be increased to 24 billion cubic meters per year, according to forecasts.

Gas produced within Shah Deniz Stage 2 will be transported from the Caspian Sea to Europe, through Italy, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Albania and the seabed of the Adriatic Sea.

The Southern Gas Corridor consists of four projects: Shah Deniz 2, Expansion of South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum), the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The projects have an estimated investment cost of approximately $40 billion.

Three of four projects have been completed. Approximately 82 percent of the TAP construction project was completed. The project to be totally operational in 2020.

At the initial stage, it is planned to transport 6 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey and 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe. Due to this giant project Azerbaijan will become important gas supplier for Europe.

Perhaps this is one of the most ambitious projects in the world of oil and gas industry, as well as a complex target that involves a large number of different stakeholders - including seven governments and 11 companies.

On May 29, Baku hosted the launch of the first phase of the Southern Gas Corridor project, and on June 12, the opening ceremony of the TANAP took place in the Turkish province of Eskisehir.

Thus, the first gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already gone through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - from the Sangachal terminal to the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline. Recently, TAP and TANAP successfully completed their connection on the banks of the Merich River on the Turkish-Greek border.

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