IEA's Birol: Southern Gas Corridor to be important contributor to Europe's supply security (Exclusive)
Date
11/5/2019 1:13:14 AM
(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.5
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Southern gas Corridor will be an important contributor to Europe's supply security, Executive Director of the International energy Agency (IEA) Dr Fatih Birol said in an exclusive interview withTrend .
"Beyond the current scope of the project, the Corridor could further connect additional sources of gas from the Caspian region from the supply side, and to the wider European market on the demand side with the reinforcement of cross-border interconnections. The European gas market is expected to see its import requirements increase by about 50 bcm/y in the next five years as domestic production continues its decline, and new sources of supply such as the Southern Gas Corridor will be important contributors to the continent's diversity and security of supply," he said.
Birol pointed out that the Corridor has received strong support from the European Union.
"The Southern Gas Corridor consists of three pipelines connecting Azerbaijan to Georgia, Turkey, then through Greece and Albania to Italy. First gas from the offshore Shah Deniz phase 2 project was delivered this summer to Turkey and the full Corridor is expected to reach completion in 2020. Upon completion, the Corridor will contribute to increasing diversity and security of supply for the abovementioned countries, and in particular in Central and South East Europe. The Corridor has received strong support from the European Union and was recognised as a priority supply corridor among the EU list of Projects of Common Interest," added the IEA executive director.
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority projects for the EU and envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.
The launching ceremony of the first stage of the Southern Gas Corridor was held in Baku on May 29, 2018, while opening ceremony of TANAP was held on June 12, 2018 in the Turkish city of Eskisehir.
The gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already gone through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - from the Sangachal terminal to the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline.
Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) were connected on the Turkish-Greek border.
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