Azernews.Az

BAKU – Up to 55 billion cubic meters of gas is to be transported through Azerbaijan in 2020-2025, an official of Azerbaijan's state energy firm Socar has said.

Vitali Beylarbayov said the volume includes gas to be produced during the second stage of developing the giant offshore Shahdaniz field and from other Azerbaijani fields as well as fuel from Central Asian states Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

He reminded that gas exports as part of Phase 2 of Shahdaniz development are due to begin in 2017.

"The total cost of the Shahdaniz project is around $40 billion. We are talking here also about bringing the transport infrastructure into compliance with the required standards. Therefore, European attention to this project is important."

Beylarbayov said Europe currently imports 70 percent of its energy, and by 2013 the figure will reach 85 percent. "From this viewpoint, there will be opportunities for the sale of Azerbaijani gas in European markets."

The Socar official said Azerbaijan’s gas could reach a number of European countries, including Italy, Greece and France.

The Shahdaniz field in the Caspian Sea, which holds proven reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas, is considered a key source for the Southern Corridor, which is a priority EU energy project diversifying supply routes and sources. The corridor includes the Nabucco gas pipeline, Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), White Stream, and Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI) pipeline.