US representative regards SGC as fantastic infrastructure to ensure Europe’s energy security
By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade
The Southern Gas Corridor, a $40 billion worth project, 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.
George Kent, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, told reporters in Baku that the Southern Gas Corridor is a fantastic huge infrastructure.
“We have many opportunities to deepen our relations in the economic side,” he said. “For many years the focus has been on the strategic issues in the energy sector. Some our biggest companies have been here working with Azerbaijani firm SOCAR to help develop oil and gas fields in the Caspian Sea, as well as on the Southern Gas Corridor.”
Kentalso stated that the Southern Gas Corridor brings not only Azerbaijani gas but potentially from Central Asia to the markets in Europe and stressed importance of the project for the whole region.
Then, he added that this project is big contribution to Europe’s energy security and connection of Central Asia with Azerbaijan.
”I think East-West connections have much more positive prospects, just because of the dynamics of the trade of energy, as well as the trade between China and Europe,” Kent added. “Even a small slice of this trade potentially has great turnover for Azerbaijan.”
The Southern Gas Corridor project envisages the creation of a pipeline infrastructure for the transportation of Azerbaijani gas, which is extracted as part of the development of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 field, to Europe via Turkey.
The Southern Gas Corridor consists of four projects: Shah Deniz 2, Expansion of South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum), Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
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.
Earlier, spokesperson for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said that the information presented by some media outlets these days on "Azerbaijan closes the corridor through its territory for NATO Member States" is not correct and Azerbaijan provides the members of the "Resolute Support" Mission, conducted by NATO in Afghanistan and where Azerbaijan also participates, with the opportunity to use the territory of the country, including its land, air and water spaces, for the proper transportation of goods within the framework of this mission
Touching upon this issue, George Kent stressed that there are no problems between the U.S. and Azerbaijan in terms of airspace.
“I am not actually aware that there is any Azerbaijani-NATO issue,” he said. “When it comes to overflights, I think there is a series of bilateral arrangements. For instance, the U.S. and Azerbaijan have an arrangement. I believe what you may have heard about are some issues between Azerbaijan and Germany. To my knowledge, there are no NATO-Azerbaijan issues and I can assure you that there are no issues between U.S. and Azerbaijan in terms of airspace.”
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Mirsaid Ibrahimzade is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @MirsaidIbrahim1
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