Azerbaijan reveals forecast on gas transportation in 2019-2023

EThus, it is not surprising that Azerbaijan, rich in energy resources and located in geographicaly favorable place, will increase transit and transportation of gas in the coming years.

Transportation of gas through the main pipelines of Azerbaijan is expected to reach 20.8 million tons in 2018, which is 30 percent more compared to 2017, according to the concept of socio-economic development of Azerbaijan and forecast indicators for 2019 and the next three years.

In the future, the Azerbaijani government expects a gradual increase in gas transportation. So, in 2019 this figure is expected to be 23.5 million tons, in 2020 - 28.3 million tons, in 2021 - 33.8 million tons and in 2022 - 36.1 million tons.

Azerbaijan is implementing a large-scale gas project, the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), which provides for the supply of gas from the giant Shah Deniz field to Europe.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority projects for the EU and envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe. Gas from this field will go via the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline to the Turkish border and further to Europe through the TransAnatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) pipelines.

TANAP and TAP are the parts of the Southern Gas Corridor.

On May 29, Baku hosted the launch ceremony of the first phase of the Southern Gas Corridor project, and on June 12, the opening ceremony of TANAP pipeline was held in the Turkish province of Eskisehir with the participation of the presidents of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Turkey - Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ukraine - Petro Poroshenko and Serbia - Alexander Vucic.

The implementation of SGC will affect gas supplies through the South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum). As a result, though, in 2017 the share of this pipeline accounted for only a third of all gas transportation, while by 2023 this figure will exceed 45 percent.

The volume of gas transportation via Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum in 2018 is expected to be at 6.5 million tons (31.25 percent of transportation via main pipelines), in 2019 - eight million tons (34.04 percent), in 2020 - 11.6 million tons (40.9 percent), in 2021 - 15.8 million tons (46.75 percent) and in 2022 - 16.6 million tons (46 percent).

The initial capacity of TANAP is expected to be 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. About six billion cubic meters will be supplied to Turkey, and the rest to Europe. After completion of the TAP, the gas will reach Europe in early 2020.

The share distribution in TANAP is as follows: Southern Gas Corridor CJSC - 51 percent, SOCAR Turkey Enerji - 7 percent, Botas - 30 percent, and BP - 12 percent.

TAP project, worth 4.5 billion euros, has already attracted 1.5 billion euros from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which approved the loan in early February 2018. The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy’s south.

Connecting with the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network.

Once built, TAP will offer a direct and cost-effective transportation route opening up the vital Southern Gas Corridor, a 3,500-kilometer long gas value chain stretching from the Caspian Sea to Europe. Around 82 percent of the TAP project has already been completed.

TAP shareholders include BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).