[Premium] Baku Advances Southern Gas Corridor Investment
Azerbaijan has invested $7.6bn to date in the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), or 62% of its investment obligation, Afgan Isayev, the general director of the Azeri SGC Co told NGW September 20. That includes $1.71bn invested in the most recent period from January 1 to September 15 2017.
He put the Azerbaijani share of SGC at $12.3bn, higher that the previously announced amount of little more than $10bn.
The reason is for the roughly 20% rise in dollar costs is that -- whereas the budget of European sector of SGC (Trans Adriatic Pipeline, or TAP) is based in euros -- the US dollar has declined significantly versus the euro during the current year: from one euro worth $1.0693 in January to about $1.20 now.
Additionally, capital expenditures in SGC also increased a little.
Isayev said that, as of now, the second phase of Shah Deniz gas field (SD2) is 95.9%-complete, with the South Caucasus Pipeline extension (SCP) 89.8% complete, the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (Tanap) about four-fifths finished, and TAP around half-completed (50.7%).
Azerbaijan has a 16.7% stake in Shah Deniz and SCPX, a 58% interest in the cross-Turkey 'Tanap' pipeline, and a 20% stake in TAP.
Azerbaijan produces about 10bn m3/yr gas from the currently producing Shah Deniz phase 1 (SD1). State producer Socar president Rovnag Abdullayev said during a conference in Baku September 20 that cumulative SD1 production has reached 85bn3 of gas and 21.2mn metric tons of condensate.
SD2 is projected to supply 16bn m3/yr gas to Turkey and EU by 2021 through the overall 3,500-km SGC.
Abdullayev also said that the gas storage capacity of Azerbaijan’s two underground facilities -- Kalmaz and Garadagh -- has reached also 3.5bn m3: "During the current year, about 1.4bn m3 was injected into them and the current stored gas amount stands at 2.2bn m3.
Ilham Shaban