The 7th meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council is set to be held in Baku today. Ilham Shaban, the head of the Oil Research Center, said that the Council is not authorized to make a decision; however, its coordinated efforts will speed up the decision-making process.
Mr. Shaban stated that Azerbaijan initiated the foundation of the Council in 2015, with its principal objective being monitoring the project implementation process. Four projects, one related to the mining industry and others to infrastructure, had already been drawn up back then. Strenuous efforts and lavish investments were necessary to implement these projects; however, the Council exerted all required efforts to carry out the projects.
The Oil Research Center head defined Ilham Aliyev's initiative to establish the Council as a right and timely measure.
"The presence of this platform in the project proved successful. The corresponding organizational units and the companies involved in the project or different financial institutions used to gather here annually and inspect the works performed. Short and long-term tasks were also formulated here," Mr. Shaban said, adding that Azerbaijan's most laudable achievement is minimizing expenses, meeting the European standards, and performing the assumed responsibilities successfully.
Ilham Shaban stressed that Azerbaijan's success in minimizing expenses when building the TANAP was conditioned by close contacts between the government and business.
It is noteworthy that the first meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) was held on 12 February 2015.
The SGC comprises the key components as follows: the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion Project (SCPX), the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
In 2021, Georgia is set to receive 1.014 bln cubic meters of gas in exchange for allowing Azerbaijani gas to pass through its territory. This year, the volume of additional gas for Georgia will amount to 508.7 mln cubic meters, with this surpassing the volume of gas (888.6 mln cubic meters) Georgia was supplied by in 2020 via the SGC by 126 mln cubic meters.
Azerbaijan put forward the initiative to create the Southern Gas Corridor. Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev said that they drew up the Energy Map for Eurasia. In his words, Azerbaijan assumed the responsibility of funding the project by building three interconnected 3,500 km pipelines, with this enabling European customers to get Azerbaijani gas. Aliyev stressed this is beneficial for both Europe and Azerbaijan.
In 2021, Azerbaijan's giant Shah Deniz field gas started flowing to the EU. The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) aims to develop gas supply routes passing through the Southern Caucasus and Turkey to supply gas from the region to Europe. The Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia defined this fact as a tremendous step forward.
Georgia is a host country in the SGC, with this implying that following the corresponding agreements, Georgia will get the SGC gas at a considerably reduced rate. The options contract enables the country to get around 5% of gas passing through it annually. The deal is valid before 2066. The additional gas purchase and sale agreement is in force until 2026. In accordance with the agreement, Georgia will receive around 500 mln cubic meters of gas annually.
