Shah Deniz Consortium Evaluates Transportation Options For Azeri Gas

The Shah Deniz consortium is considering the expansion of gas transport infrastructure to deliver Azeri gas from Stage-2 of the Shah Deniz project to Western Europe.

Shah Deniz Stage 2 is a giant project that is expected to add a further 16 Bcm/a of gas production to the approximately 9 Bcm/a from Shah Deniz Stage 1. Plans for the Stage 2 project include two bridge-linked offshore platforms; 26 subsea wells;400- km of subsea pipelines; and expansion of the Sangachal Terminal.

Four proposals for the transportation of gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe are now being evaluated by the Shah Deniz consortium with an award expected shortly.
One of the pipelines under review to transport Azeri gas is the Trans Adriatic Pipeline or TAP. As proposed, the TAP will transport gas from the Shah Deniz field via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further to Western Europe, opening up a new Southern Gas Corridor to Europe and market outlet for natural gas from the Caspian Sea region.

To understand the views of TAP Country Managers in Albania, Greece and Italy on how the project is developing and the different challenges and benefits it will deliver, Lisa Givert, TAP’s Head of Communications, spoke with Country Managers Per Lindberg, for Albania, Rikard Scoufias, for Greece and Paul Pasteris, for Italy.

Here’s what they had to say in response to her questions:

Lisa Givert (LG): To start, how much awareness is there of the Southern Gas Corridor in your respective countries?

Per Lindberg (PL), Country Manager for Albania: I think there’s quite a bit of awareness in Albania, in particular of course among government officials, but also in the media and among the general public, at least as far as Tirana is concerned. They understand that this is a chance to put Albania on the European gas map.

Rikard Scoufias (RS), Country Manager for Greece: I second that for Greece. Making Greece part of the broader European energy picture has been a national objective for a long time. That has not changed despite different governments since 2000. So, there is absolute awareness of the Southern Gas Corridor and of the role Greece could play.

Paul Pasteris (PP), Country Manager for Italy: Obviously, the Southern Gas Corridor is very important in Italy and the country has been involved in supporting projects that are a part of it. Italy, right now, receives gas from Russia, the North Sea and from North Africa, so they consider this to be the missing link to new energy reserves. There is also an ambition to become a Mediterranean hub, so for them it’s very important to access gas from the Caspian.