Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The first gas supply via the Southern Gas Corridor from the Caspian Sea will reach Europe by 2019, local Russian media quoted European Commissioner for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič as saying.

He noted the accomplishment of Southern Gas Corridor project has become one of the priorities after Russia’s refusal to lay the South Stream pipeline.

Šefčovič also called for removing political and bureaucratic problems in the way of European energy project, as well as assistance to resolve internal disputes among the participants of the project.

In any case, the European Union has already received assurances from Azerbaijan and Turkey to see the project of Southern Gas Corridor implemented on time, he noted.

“Based on the contacts with the authorities of Azerbaijan and Turkey, I was assured that they are committed to develop the project and other relative projects including the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline,” Šefčovič added.

The gas which will be produced at the second stage of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field development will be the main source of Southern Gas Corridor, which envisages the transportation of the Caspian gas to European markets.

The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline with a length of around 300 kilometers will be laid from the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, where it will be linked to the Southern Gas Corridor. The pipeline's capacity is 30-40 billion cubic meters of gas per year.