BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 6. The international rating agency Moody's has affirmed the senior unsecured foreign currency rating of Southern Gas Corridor CJSC (SGC) at Ba1 and changed the outlook from stable to positive, Trend reports via Moody's.
The rating and outlook on the Southern Gas Corridor CJSC correspond to similar indicators of Azerbaijan itself in Moody's rating actions.
Experts of this rating agency note that increasing gas supplies will provide Azerbaijan with diversification from its traditional dependence on oil, especially as oil production continues to decline due to depleting reserves.
"Azerbaijan benefits from higher EU demand for its gas, reflecting EU efforts to diversify supply sources and routes to reduce dependence on Russian gas," Moody's believes.
Experts recall that over the past two years, Azerbaijan has signed several agreements with the European Commission, as well as with individual European economies on gas supplies.
"In this regard, gas production and export volumes have increased significantly since 2022, which is explained by additional opportunities from exploration projects and the upcoming expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline," the agency's analysts point out.
To note, Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) CJSC is a special purpose company established by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan in 2014 (51 percent of the shareholding belongs to the Ministry of Economy, 49 percent - SOCAR).
This CJSC was established to consolidate, manage, and finance the state's interests in the development of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field, the expansion of the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline, and the and the implementation of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) projects.
The South Caucasus Gas Pipeline, TANAP, and TAP are segments of the SGC.
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