Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.8
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
There is significant potential for the delivery of gas via the Southern Gas Corridor to Europe through the Eastring gas pipeline, Public Relations and Communication specialist at Slovakia’s Eustream company Pavol Kubik told Trend Nov.8.
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.
At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor project. Other sources can also join this project at a later stage.
As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of TANAP and TAP.
Eastring has obtained the status of the Project of Common Interest (PCI) for the European Union. It will be ready for future gas imports to Europe from well-established, alternative sources - the Caspian Sea region and the Middle East.
Bulgarian and Slovak natural gas transmission system operators Bulgartransgaz and Eustream signed a memorandum of understanding on Nov.4 on cooperation to improve security of natural gas deliveries in Central and Southeastern Europe and the implementation of gas infrastructure projects, namely Balkan Gas Hub and Eastring gas pipeline.
This document confirms the link between the two projects, as Bulgartransgaz and Eustream will draft a concept for the development of a gas hub in Bulgaria in accordance with the Eastring project.
“Eastring project is not linked to any supplier. Therefore, it will be open for every source on the non-discriminatory basis in full compliance with EU legislation. In this context, we believe there is a significant potential towards Caspian region and Southern Gas Corridor route,” said Kubik.
Regarding the link between Balkan gas hub and Eastring, he said that the common aim of both projects is to provide European customers with transparent and non-discriminatory access to a wide range of supply sources and therefore both companies recognized synergies of the projects.
“The synergy with Eastring lays in the fact, that both companies agreed the Eastring pipeline will serve as a priority western route for the interconnection of the regional markets and the Balkan Gas Hub (the new gas hub needs to be connected to sufficient infrastructure),” added Kubik.
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