Brussels, 17/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - The final investment decision of the Shah Deniz-II consortium has been signed. The EU will receive 10 billion cubic metres of gas per year from 2019.
On 17 December, the consortium which holds the licence to exploit the reserves of the second Azeri gas field of Shah Deniz in the Caspian Sea signed the final investment decision of the project, paving the way for future gas deliveries to Europe. The Shah Deniz-II shareholders - BP from the UK, Socar from Azerbaijan, Statoil from Norway, Total from France and Luk-Agip from Russia and Italy - signed an investment agreement for €20 billion in Baku on Tuesday, in the presence of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger. This colossal project provides for the construction of platforms and subsea wells in order to extract 16 billion m3 of gas per year in water depths of 500 metres in the Caspian Sea.
This decision breathes life into the European Southern Corridor gas project, via Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, and into the construction of the Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) gas pipelines. The TAP pipeline - which was chosen by Shah Deniz-II last June to deliver gas to Europe rather than the Nabucco-West project - will cross Greece, Albania and Italy. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso immediately hailed “this important step” in the diversification strategy for EU supplies. In the long term, 20% of the EU's energy needs could be met by the Southern Corridor, in Oettinger's opinion.
The first deliveries of gas are expected towards 2018 for Turkey (6 billion m3 per year) and from 2019 for Europe (10 billion m3 per year). In September, Shah Deniz-II concluded long term contracts with nine European energy groups. (EH/transl.fl)