Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

UK Minister of State for Energy Michael Fallon, who will arrive to Azerbaijan on July 9, said his visit is an important opportunity to stress the importance of the Southern Gas Corridor.

During the visit that is expected to end on July 11, Fallon will hold meetings with the Azerbaijani leadership and officials to discuss the Southern Gas Corridor project, the British Embassy in Azerbaijan reported.

This visit is an important opportunity to reinforce the importance of the Southern Corridor pipeline and the significant role it will play in ensuring Britain's security of energy supply, Fallon said.

"Increasing the diversity of the European energy mix is particularly important in the context of current events in Ukraine," he stressed. "The recent series of UK ministerial visits to the region underline the value we place on pushing ahead with this key infrastructure project."

The Southern Gas Corridor is a project that will allow Europe to diversify its sources of hydrocarbon supply and strengthen energy security and enable Azerbaijan to get a new market in Europe.

The gas to be produced within the second phase of the Azerbaijani gas condensate Shah Deniz field's development is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor.

Azerbaijan is an important current and future supplier of both oil and natural gas. The country's largest hydrocarbon deposits are located in the Caspian Sea, particularly, the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) block of oil and gas fields and Shah Deniz, Umid and Absheron gas fields.

The Energy Ministry reports that currently the country's proven gas reserves are at the level of 2.6 trillion cubic meters, while the oil reserves amount to 2 billion tons.

The cited indicators ensure future development of the gas industry in Azerbaijan for a period exceeding 100 years.

According to the projections, the country's oil production will hit 51 million tons in 2015. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's gas production will exceed 30 billion cubic meters in 2015.