New Gas Pipeline to be Constructed in Azerbaijan
To assure the export of increasing gas volume from Azerbaijan a new gas pipeline will be constructed, costing 3 billion dollars. This was stated these days by the President of the company BР Azerbaijan Rashid Javanshir. According to him, a new gas pipeline will be urgent to pipe extra 16 billion cubic meters of gas annually within the framework of the project “Shakh-Deniz-2”.
“The length of the new export gas pipeline will cover 400 km. It will be piped up to Azerbaijani-Georgian boarder. Within the territory of Georgia, where two high-capacity compressors will be erected, the new pipeline will be connected to the already existing South Caucasian Pipeline (SCP), which at the moment is used to export gas from the first stage pf the “Shakh-Deniz” field development”, – reported to the journalists the BР Azerbaijan President Rashid Javanshir. By this he added, that the total volume of gas export within the framework of a full-scale development of this big marine gas-condense field will cover 24 billion cubic meters annually. It is planned to have first gas within the frames of a full-scale development of “Shakh-Deniz” field in 2017. Transportation of the natural fuel, thus, will be assured by two gas pipelines.
> Nabucco Pipeline Map
Let’s remind that at the moment gas from this field is transported through SCP to Georgia and Turkey. It’s worth mentioning that by making a decision on piping a new gas line, Baku is not only striving to increase the volume of its own gas export, but also to establish a reliable infrastructure for gas transit from the Eastern bank of Caspian Sea. In particular, as “NG” has already written, in the near years to come Azerbaijan counts to pump via its territory about 40 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas to Europe. The decision of Ashgabat to diversify the ways of its energy carriers delivery to world markets, particularly, to join the Nabucco project, in fact pushes Baku to increase the capacity of its transit possibilities. The case is that the infrastructure existing in Azerbaijan is not designed for the pumping of such big volumes considering the rising demand on Azerbaijani gas in Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and other states. For example, recently Damask and Baku have signed a final agreement on technical details of Azerbaijani gas purchase. Thus the Deputy Minister of Oil of Syria Gasan Zaynab claimed that already next year Syria will start importing about 3.5 million cubic meters gas daily from Azerbaijan. According to the Deputy Minister, it is expected that gas import will start from the end of 2011, although a precise date will depend on the piping of the line between Syria and Turkey, with the help of which the supplies will be performed.
Translated by EuroDialogue XXI from NG
15.12.2010
