WSJ: BP-led Azeri Gas Project Reaches Key Development Phase
Shah Deniz, the consortium developing a natural-gas field offshore Azerbaijan, is ready to proceed with the phase of the $25 billion project where they choose which pipeline schemes will bring gas from the Caspian Sea to consumers in Turkey and Europe, BP PLC (BP) said Tuesday.
The consortium, in which BP has a pivotal role, will now start allocating the main construction and commercial contracts necessary to ensure the first gas deliveries can take place by 2017 at the earliest, including deciding between the rival pipeline projects bidding for the right to bring the gas to market.
The issue of natural-gas transportation from the Caspian to Europe is key for the European Union's aim of opening a "corridor" from Central Asia, across Turkey, and getting new suppliers in an energy-rich region to ease its dependence on Russia's natural gas. MORE (registration required)