EU energy commissioner to visit Baku
By Aynur Jafarova
European Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger is expected to visit Azerbaijan's capital Baku in December, a source in the Energy Department of the European Commission told Trend news agency on December 13.
Oettinger will visit the country to attend a ceremony on finalizing an investment decision on the second stage of development of Azerbaijan's giant Shah Deniz gas condensate field in the Caspian Sea, which is expected to take place on December 17.
The source said the exact dates of his visit are under consideration.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague will also pay a visit to Azerbaijan to attend the signing ceremony.
Earlier Head of Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev said the first gas produced during the second stage of Shah Deniz field development will be delivered to Turkey in 2018 and to Europe in 2019.
Gas which will be produced within the second stage of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field development will be the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor, which envisages the transportation of Caspian gas to European markets.
In late June, the Shah Deniz consortium announced the selection of TAP as the main route for transporting its gas to Europe. Another pipeline which was vying for Azerbaijani gas transportation to Europe was Nabucco West.
The gas condensate reserves of the Shah Deniz field are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters. According to forecasts, gas production can be brought up to 24 billion cubic meters per year as part of the second stage of the field development.
The Azerbaijani gas will become an alternative supply source for Turkey and Europe, and will increase competition in regional and European markets.