BP highlights significance of Southern Gas Corridor
By Amina Nazarli
BP President Robert Dudley has appreciated the opportunity to create the Turkish Stream pipeline as another way of timely delivery of gas to Europe.
“I think that is a good thing to create another high-speed gas route to Europe,” he said this addressing the World Energy Congress.
An energy alliance, which aims to diversify routes and sources of energy, is formed in the European Union. The EU is actively interested in liquefied natural gas, delivery of which is more expensive and takes much more time than the gas supply via pipeline. The EU also seeks to reduce dependence on energy imports, including from the Russian gas.
At the same time, the European Commission has strongly advocated the preservation of the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine. He considers the Southern Gas Corridor the highest priority among the ongoing projects, which should bring "blue fuel" to the European market from Azerbaijan in the coming years.
It is worth noting that the British BP participates in the Southern Gas Corridor. The SGC is one of the biggest construction projects of our times with a value of $45 billion which aims to improve the energy security of the EU and diversity its energy supply routes.
“I do not think there is a direct correlation between what we are doing in the Southern Corridor and the Turkish Stream, but I'm glad for the emergence of the world's new energy flows,” Dudley told reporters after his speech.
Turkish Stream project, which involves the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey through the Black Sea [which should pass through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary], was frozen after the cooling of political relations between Moscow and Ankara in November 2015.
In August 2016, the presidents of two countries Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to resume the implementation of the Turkish Stream project.
In separate addresses to the World Energy Congress in Istanbul on Monday, Russian and Turkish presidents said their countries wanted to push ahead with the Turkish Stream project.
Speaking at the World Energy Congress, Putin said that he and Erdogan had thoroughly discussed the joint Turkish Stream pipeline ahead of the visit, saying they “intend to implement” the project.
Erdogan, in turn said, “We look positively at the Turkish Stream project. Our efforts are continuing.”
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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