Shah Deniz Field: Azerbaijan delivers gas to EU through Georgia
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Tuesday, January 5
Gas supply from the Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan to the EU has started through the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline system.
Natia Turnava, Georgia's Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, congratulated all parties participating in this project.
“Today is a very important day for the development of the energy corridor through Georgia. The final phase of the Southern Gas Corridor Trans-Adriatic Pipeline project has been completed. Through this large regional project, natural gas was supplied to Europe from Azerbaijan through the Shah Deniz field through Georgia and Turkey," Turnava emphasized.
According to her, the project is crucial for strengthening Georgia's energy independence. The economy minister recalled that this is a logical end of the project - a year ago, the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline, One of the most important components of the Southern Gas Corridor, was opened by Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, along with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Seven European countries and ten major Turkish buyers will receive natural gas through the Southern gas corridor. The South Caucasus Pipeline project envisages the benefits of the Georgian side, specifically, the state has the opportunity to buy up to 500 million m3 gas annually for 2 times lower than the market price. Besides, according to the contract that is valid until 2066, Georgia will also receive 5% of the gas volume free of charge.
As PM Gakharia noted, the Southern Corridor helps to compensate for the reduction in local gas production in Europe. An important purpose of the Southern Gas Corridor is also to strengthen competition in the common European market. At the same time, commercially attractive and environmentally friendly natural gas will be supplied to the Balkan countries which have not used it so far or are critically dependent on Russian gas imports.
Gakharia also pointed out the political effect that followed the development of the Southern Gas Corridor.
“If until now Georgia was only a transit country for gas of regional importance - it transit of Azerbaijani gas to Turkey and Russian gas to Armenia - now it has become an international player. From today on, the gas exported on the territory of the country will play an important role in diversifying international, mainly EU energy markets and increasing security of supply.”
Composed of 3,500km of pipelines, the Southern Gas Corridor consists of three pipelines - the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion (SCPX), the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
