Increasing gas transit through Georgia will lower fees for consumers, minister says
The expansion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, which transports gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea, will lead to an increase in the transit of gas to 16 billion cubic meters which will allow Georgia to get more benefits, Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze told journalists on Tuesday.
He said investors are already discussing the possibility of increasing the capacity of the gas pipeline.
The gas transported via the BTE pipeline is supplied to Georgia and Turkey.
Kaladze said Georgia will be able to get five per cent from the entire transit of gas from the giant Shah Deniz field, which will reduce gas prices for consumers in the future.
The statement was made on the sidelines of the GIOGE Energy Conference 2013, which is underway in Tbilisi.
Organiser of the conference and exhibition, held since 2002, is the Iteca Kavkasia Company.
GIOGIE is traditionally attended by 150 delegates from 15 countries, as well as government delegations from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkey.
The GIOGIE program considers key international issues facing the global oil and gas industry, as well as current policy and regulations and how they affect the energy sector of Georgia.