The European Union expects the first gas to come from Azerbaijan as part of the Southern Gas Corridor project in 2020, the head of the EU delegation to Azerbaijan, Malena Mard, said Apr. 9.
She made the remarks at the 8th Caspian Oil and Gas Trading and Transportation Conference, held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The conference is held with support from Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR, and organizational assistance of the Baku Higher Oil School, the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy, and British Confidence Capital.
“Azerbaijan is an important trade partner of the EU,” Mard said. “We look forward to the further expansion of trade relations with Azerbaijan.”
She added that the bases for a long-term cooperation in the energy sector were laid with the launch of the Southern Gas Corridor project.
“For its part, the EU will do everything necessary to complete the work on time. We have no doubt in the timely implementation of the project and look forward to receiving Azerbaijan’s gas in 2020,” Mard further noted.
The Southern Gas Corridor will allow Europe to diversify its hydrocarbon supply sources and strengthen energy security and also will allow Azerbaijan to enter a new market in Europe.
On December 17, 2013, a final investment decision was made on the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz offshore gas and condensate field’s development. The gas produced at this field will first go to the European market (10 billion cubic meters). Around six billion cubic meters will be annually supplied to Turkey.
The contract for development of the Shah Deniz offshore field was signed on June 4, 1996. The field’s proven reserve is estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas and 240 million metric tons of condensate.
As part of the Stage 2 of the field’s development, gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and construction of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
