Transportation of natural gas extracted from the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea via the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) to global markets is the biggest project for the coming period, Head of the Turkish-Azerbaijani Business Council at the Council for Foreign Economic Relations of Turkey (DEIK) Selcuk Akat said, report. az informs, referring to Anadolu Agency.
"The delivery of the existing resources of the Caspian Sea to world markets through TANAP will be the largest new project of the future. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have already agreed on the Caspian Sea borders and gas reserves," Akat said.
He noted that the transportation of Azerbaijani oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline to the Mediterranean Sea and its export to the international market is an essential part of the project.
Azerbaijan exported 11.1 bln cubic meters of gas in 2020, which exceeded the volumes exported last year by 21%. A total of 4.7 bln cubic meters of gas (1.9 bln cubic meters or 68.8% more than the volume of gas transported in 2019) passed through the TANAP.
Natural gas is transported to Turkey from the Shah Deniz gas field. Volumes of gas is supplied to Turkey via the South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) and the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP). It is transported to Georgia through the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum and Gazimammad-Gazakh pipelines.
Last year, Azerbaijan sold 13.5 bln cubic meters of gas in foreign countries, with the total sales exceeding the amount sold in 2019 by 15.6% or $1.8 bln.
In 2020, Turkey imported 11.1 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan, which is 21% more than in 2019.
The volumes of gas exported from Azerbaijan to Georgia amounted to 1.1 bln cubic meters, a 2.8% reduction in annual exported volumes.
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).
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.
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.
