The implementation of the project has been completed for 92%.

As known, the Southern Gas Corridor will deliver the Azerbaijani gas to the center of Europe passing through the countries of the region – Georgia and Turkey. The Corridor consists of 4 parts: Shah Deniz Phase II, the Southern Caucasus Pipeline, Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

On June 30, 2018, the transportation of gas to Turkey was launched within the framework of “Shah Deniz-2”.

The Southern Caucasus Pipeline envisages the delivery of the gas extracted from the Shah Deniz field to Georgia and its transportation from there.

TANAP, which is the third phase of the Southern Gas Corridor, will deliver the gas extracted from the “Shah Deniz-2” gas condensate field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea to European consumers.

The TANAP project delivering the Azerbaijani gas to Turkey and Europe and which is called “The Silk Road of Energy” was commissioned on June 12, 2018. TANAP is connected to the Southern Caucasus Pipeline on Turkey-Georgia border and to the TAP gas pipeline on Turkey-Greece border.

Eventually, by commissioning TAP, the last segment of the Southern Gas Corridor, the Azerbaijani gas will enter European markets. This pipeline is expected to be completed by the end of the current year.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev paid special attention to the discussions regarding the TAP project during his recent state visit to Italy.

President Ilham Aliyev: “Azerbaijan has been supplying Italy with crude oil for many years. The crude oil coming from Azerbaijan makes 18% of the Italian consumption, and Azerbaijan is in the first place. As a result of the successful completion of the TAP project, Azerbaijan and Italy will further operate together as very reliable partners in the field of gas. The TAP project is about to be completed. The project has been executed for 92%, and as you know, TAP is the fourth segment of the Southern Gas Corridor. So far, the other works in the other three segments have been fully completed. I am confident that by the end of this year, we will mark the full commissioning of the project.”

In general, Italy, which is one of the most important partners of Azerbaijan as an oil buyer, is expected to become one of the main consumers of our country’s gas reserves.

The becoming of Italy the main gas buyer of Azerbaijan will further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Experts consider that it will contribute to not only the development and strengthening of the relations between Italy and Azerbaijan, but also to the maintenance of the stability in the Caspian Sea and Mediterranean Sea regions. The economic cooperation will deepen the political dialogue and strengthen the allied relations.

92% of the works – engineering, equipment and construction on the TAP Pipeline project envisaging the transportation of Azerbaijan’s natural gas to Europe have been completed. It is noteworthy that the capital expenditures of the project are 4.5 bln EUR. The pipeline passes through the territory of three European countries – Greece, Albania and Italy. TAP’s initial conductivity capability will be 10 bln cubic meters, and it is expected to increase this volume to 20 bln cubic meters.  

Thus, the full implementation of the project will give Azerbaijan a number of significant dividends.

Firstly, a big volume of currency will enter the country, and it will create an opportunity to implement new social and infrastructure projects.

Secondly, Azerbaijan will gain close political partnership with all the countries located on the Corridor.

Thirdly, Europe, which is interested in alternative sale sources, will obtain a reliable partner like Azerbaijan and get rid of the dependence on other sellers. It will lead to the growth of our country’s role in Europe’s energy supply and increase of Baku’s reputation in the international political relations.

Fourthly, all these projects will identify new cooperation directions, serve the welfare of all the participating people and become an additional guarantor for security.

Vusal Mammadov