LONDON
The Southern Gas Corridor, also known as the Caspian Gas Corridor, offers a number of opportunities both to Azerbaijan and other countries as well, Azerbaijan's Energy Minister said on Thursday.
The Southern Gas Corridor is planned to carry natural gas sourced in Azerbaijan near the Caspian Sea, then to pass through Turkish territory to reach Greece in the west, and then further on to Albania and Italy. Thus, Turkey is to become a significant transit country as its Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline, TANAP, project is part of the Southern Gas Corridor.
Azerbaijan Minister of Energy Natig Aliyev said that, reaching many people, the project would create many opportunities.
"TANAP passes through 20 provinces, 67 districts and near 600 villages from east to west. Six billion cubic meters of its capacity will be delivered to Turkey in 2019 while 10 billion cubic meters will be delivered to Europe in 2020. On the other side, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline will through the territory of Greece, Albania and to Italy," Aliyev said at the 3rd Caspian Corridor Conference organized at the headquarters of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London.
Ian Sutherland, Regional Vice President, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, BP said that the capacity of the pipelines can be extended and distributed to a wider area. "This is the biggest project in BP's worldwide portfolio. It is going to connect Caspian resources to the European market, offer diversity in its energy mix," he stated.
BP holds 28.8 percent shares in the Southern Gas Corridor project.
"45 billion dollars of investment was placed in the Southern Gas Corridor. The equally important factor is that it creates thousand of jobs in many countries," Sutherland said.
The Chairman of Global Resource Partners and founder of the Bosphorus Energy Club, Mehmet Ogutcu said that he will bring a critical perspective to the Southern Gas Corridor. He pointed to increasing gas supply and decreasing demand in the market.
"That's why the gas of the Caspian market should be more competitive. Investors and dynamics in the region should be analyzed carefully. However, still there is no risk for the Southern Gas Corridor," he said.
Fuat Akhundov, CEO of Turkey's first nuclear power plant Akkuyu, also discussed the changing dynamics of the gas market adding that Turkey imports around 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. "Almost half of it is used for electricity generation. When Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant becomes operational, it will meet 17 percent of electricity consumption on its own," he stated.
The Akkuyu Power Plant will be Turkey's first nuclear power plant constructed in Mersin, in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey and expected to be fully operational in 2023.
