Brussels, 13/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - At the first meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council on Thursday 12 February, stakeholders restated their political support for the project to carry gas from Azerbaijan to the European market via Georgia and Turkey.
“The meeting ended with the signing of a joint ministerial statement which sends a strong political signal for the EU's energy security”, tweeted Maros Sefcovic after the meeting, stressing the need to abide by the project's construction timetable “so that the gas can be carried to Europe by 2020” (our translation).
In a ministerial statement, co-signed by Sefcovic on behalf of the EU, the producer country - Azerbaijan - and the transit countries - Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Italy and Turkey - state their “intention to strengthen and expand the mutually beneficial activity for the successful and timely implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor”. Stakeholders “confirm readiness … to facilitate the completion of all necessary regulatory and legal prerequisites, as well as permitting and authorising decisions required for the commencement of project activities”. They say, too, that they want to find mechanisms to bring in financial institutions in order to secure access to financing for those taking part in the project. Restating their desire to develop the infrastructure by making best use of the existing framework of the EU, the stakeholders make clear that they “intend to establish a working level consultation format on a bilateral and multilateral basis, open to possible future participants …, to address all outstanding matters as they may emerge during the realisation of the Southern Gas Corridor in the most practical and timely way”.
The statement was also signed by representatives of the United Kingdom (UK oil group BP is closely involved in the project, heading up extraction in the Azeri gas field) and the United States.
The Southern Gas Corridor will carry gas from the Azeri gas field of Shah Deniz, in the Caspian Sea, to the European market through the South Caucasus gas pipeline (SCP) across Azerbaijan and Georgia then through the Transanatolian pipeline (TANAP) across Turkey to the border with Bulgaria, and on through the Transadriatic pipeline (TAP) across Greece, Albania and Italy.
This project, that has long had the support of the Commission, is expected to satisfy 20% of the EU's gas needs in the medium term. It is currently planned that it will deliver 10 billion cubic metres of gas to the European market and 6 billion cubic metres to the Turkish Market. (Emmanuel Hagry)