Azerbaijan hails gas pipeline milestone
The president of Azerbaijan has inaugurated the Southern Gas Corridor, a vast pipeline network that will carry gas from the Caspian Sea to Turkey this year, and to Western Europe from 2020
The event, hosted at the newly-expanded BP-operated Sangachal terminal, marks a symbolic milestone ahead of first commercial gas deliveries to Turkey, which are expected by the middle of this year.
President Ilham Aliyev made the announcement at the opening of the 25th Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition. The Sangachal terminal, located an hour’s drive from the country’s capital, Baku, has been expanded as part of Shah Deniz 2, a giant project that will boost gas production in Azerbaijan.
BP’s head of Upstream, Bernard Looney, spoke at the event. He said Shah Deniz 2 is a truly transformational project.
“It is one of the biggest gas developments in the world, expected to increase Azerbaijan’s gas production by 16 billion cubic metres per year," Looney said.
As part of the project, gas will travel through the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline in Azerbaijan and Georgia, before joining TANAP (Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline) in Turkey.
Speaking on behalf of the Shah Deniz consortium, Mr Looney thanked co-venturers for their collaboration, praising their expertise and deep understanding of the Caspian basin.
Looney also pointed to the remarkable achievements in Azerbaijan, including the local construction of all offshore facilities, including two platforms. He also noted that, at the peak of construction, the project employed more than 24,000 people.
The celebration at the Sangachal terminal opened the annual Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition. Now in its 25th year, the event celebrates the best of what the region’s industry has to offer.
This year’s event is particularly symbolic, coinciding with the centenary anniversary of the establishment of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
