Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Preparations for the implementation of projects on the expansion of the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline and second stage of the giant Shah Deniz gas condensate field development located in Azerbaijan's sector of the Caspian Sea are nearing to completion, Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev said.

"The final decision on the gas delivery route to Europe will be made next month," Abdullayev said in his meeting with the French delegation which visited Baku for participation at the second World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue.

The South Caucasus Gas Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) with the length of 700 kilometers transports the gas produced in the Shah Deniz field and supply to Georgia and Turkey. Azerbaijan appears as a buyer of gas as well. In 2012, daily output capacity of the pipeline reached 11.1 million cubic meters of gas or 68,000 barrels in oil equivalent and expected to increase the gas transit 16 billion cubic meters through the expansion of this pipeline.

The consortium developing Azerbaijan's giant Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea is considering both the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and Nabucco West for gas export. The consortium will make its final decision on the pipeline route in June and a final investment decision by October 2013.

The TAP project is designed to transport gas from the Caspian region via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further into Western Europe. TAP's initial capacity will be 10 billion cubic meters per year, but it is easily expandable to 20 billion cubic meters.

Nabucco West, a short-cut version of the Nabucco project, which envisages construction of a pipeline from the Turkish-Bulgarian border to Austria, and TAP are part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the EU's priority energy projects. The Southern Gas Corridor aims at diversifying the routes and sources of energy supply, thereby increasing secure delivery.

The gas which will be produced within the second stage of Shah Deniz field development is considered as the main source for the Nabucco West and TAP projects.

Furthermore, Abdullayev said that the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) has gained the international recognition

During the meeting the members of the French delegation appreciated Azerbaijan's role in ensuring the energy security of Europe.

The TANAP project envisages construction of a pipeline from the eastern border of Turkey to the country's western border to supply gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea to Europe through Turkey. Initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to be 16 billion cubic meters per year. Around 6 billion cubic meters will be delivered to Turkey, while the rest will be transported to Europe.

World community looking forward to final decision on gas transportation route

The world community is looking forward to the decision of the Shah Deniz consortium on the route for the transportation of gas under the second stage of the Shah Deniz field development.

This statement was maid during the session 'Energy security from the Caspian Sea to Europe: the Changing World Energy Security Dynamics: New prospects for the Southern Energy Corridor' within the Azerbaijan-U.S. forum 'Vision of the future' which opened in Baku on May 29 over the 21st anniversary of cooperation between the two countries.

According to chief adviser of the office on energy of the U.S. Department of State Daniel Stein, the U.S. supports both options [Nabucco West and TAP], since the ultimate goal of each is to ensure the energy security of Europe.

According to vice-president of SOCAR on Marketing and Investment Elshad Nasirov, the Shah Deniz consortium will make a final decision in the coming weeks.

"We commend both routes, but must make a choice in favor of one of them, and, of course, it should be understood by the party, which will be denied," Nasirov said.

The Shah Deniz field, which is one of the world's largest gas-condensate fields, was discovered in 1999. Its reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.

Overall, the Shah Deniz field has proved to be a secure and reliable supplier of gas to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey as well as Europe.