German MP: Georgia plays vital role in ensuring energy security

A member of the national Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany believes Georgia could become the new place that ensures the stability of Germany’s energy security.

Charles Huber’s announcement was released by the German Embassy in Georgia, where Huber referred to the Southern Gas Corridor as a project with immense potential for the wider European area. The Southern Gas Corridor was an initiative of the European Commission to ensure a gas supply from the Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to Europe.

In this method gas will be shipped from Azerbaijan via the upgraded South Caucasus Pipeline through Georgia and via the TANAP, a completely new 2000km-long-pipeline through Turkey, until it reaches its Western borders.

"Georgia has been implementing successful political transformation since the country regained independence and [was now] established as a confident partner in the international arena,” Huber said.

As Germany was heavily dependent on the import of gas, the German official said ensuring gas security was very important for Germany.

"This is a major milestone for the diversification of our energy supplies and will [it] reduce some countries energy dependence. This will certainly benefit German consumers,” he said.

In the current geo-political conditions of Eastern Europe, this project was expected to reduce the dependency of the EU and Eastern European countries on Russian gas.

The Southern Gas Corridor spans a total length of 4,000km through six countries, including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania and Italy and many energy companies. The Corridor is made up of numerous special energy projects that represent a general investment of $45 billion USD. It is expected to be finished in 2019.

After the project is completed, it is estimated the gas supply will increase from Azerbaijan and will cover nearly 20 percent of the total gas demand from European countries. (Agenda.ge)