Shah Deniz progresses
Azerbaijan hopes Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), a link to the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), will enable Bulgaria to import gas from the Shah Deniz field. In addition, Croatia and Montenegro are also in the Azerbaijani aim. IGB pipeline is planned to be 182 km long, with a final capacity of 3 bNcm/y. Interestingly enough, Azerbaijan is currently a net importer of gas after it sold the Shah Deniz 1 field capacities with long-term contracts by the year 2020 (Italy, Greece and Turkey were are major importers). State-owned utility SOCAR was forced to import Turkmenistan gas through Iran, but faced difficulties during the process. In addition, profits from exports were reduced in 2016 by 35.5% when compared to previous year. This was a major contributing factor for S&P to affirme Azerbaijan ’BB+/B’ ratings giving it a negaive outlook. BP Azerbaijan reported the Shah Deniz phase 2 is over 83% completed and plans to make it operational in 2018. As stated by BP Azerbaijan - "Around $28 billion in capital investment will be required to produce the gas and transport it to the Georgia-Turkey border. From there, additional pipeline systems will deliver 6 bcma of gas to Turkey and a further 10 bcma of gas to markets in Europe, in a route known as the Southern Gas Corridor. Shah Deniz gas will travel 3,500 kilometres, to elevations of over 2,500 metres, and over 800 metres below the sea."
Source: Natural Gas World
