A ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction of the new 800-kilometer Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) took place in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. The project envisages the expansion of export and transit opportunities for the delivery of natural gas to Europe from Azerbaijan, as well as Turkmenistan in the future.
Giorgi Kvirikashvili participated in the European-scale event as chairman of the transit state government, whose inclusion in this mega-project is important for all the parties, and especially for the regional players. The prime minister confirmed that Georgia remains committed to the fundamental principle of global energy safety regarding the need to develop new communication lines for the delivery of energy carriers, their diversification, as well as the equal participation of large and small states in the European process. Moreover, TAP, which provides transportation of natural gas to Italy via Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece and Albania, is considered to be one of the largest projects.
According to Kvirikashvili, "the Trans Adriatic Pipeline will be joined by other existing and planned pipelines. As a result, energy markets will become accessible to the Southern Gas Corridor.'' According to the Georgian Prime Minister, the successful implementation of the project would provide "a stable supply of gas from the Caspian region to the south-eastern, central and western parts of Europe." Prime Minister Kvirikashvili stressed that his country is "one of the main transit partners of Azerbaijan and the EU."
"We are proud that we are a reliable partner in this transit corridor. Thanks to its geographical position at the crossroads of the interests of supplier-countries and consumers of natural gas, Georgia is an integral part of the southern route,'' Kvirikashvili underlined, recalling that the first steps were taken when Georgia and Azerbaijan together with Turkey "formed a successful partnership to establish mutually beneficial cooperation in the energy sector" with the support of Western allies. The Georgian Prime Minister informed that the construction of the new gas pipeline will create about 30,000 jobs in the participating countries, including Georgia.
According to the Prime Minister's statements, Tbilisi hopes to join the project of Turkmenistan and other regional gas suppliers. The Georgian Energy Ministry informed Vestnik Kavkaza that "in this case the problem of providing Georgian consumers with natural gas will be resolved once and for all," the payment scheme of natural gas transit, which allows for the purchase of a significant portion of gas at preferential prices, is not as tested with Azerbaijani and Turkish partners.
A leading Georgian energy expert, a former adviser to Prime Minister Giorgi Khukhashvili, told Vestnik Kavkaza that he fully shares the optimism of the head of government: "Any project of this kind is always positive for us in terms of deepening the geopolitical features of our country, saying nothing of the economic benefits. It is clear that we are not a key participant, but it is very favorable for us to participate in these processes,'' the expert noted.
Answering the question of whether Georgia can count on the old schemes of payment for transit, when a part of the natural gas is sold to the transit country at a reduced price, Giorgi Khukhashvili stressed that there are international standards, as well as the tradition of interaction in the context of the previous program 'Shah Deniz-1'. "These tested schemes allow us to hope that Georgia's interests will be taken into account as much as possible,'' the expert said.
The Georgian energy expert told Vestnik Kavkaza that the media's statements, and even those of official representatives of some countries, that Azerbaijan allegedly does not have enough resources to fill the TAP "have nothing in common with reality. 'Shah Deniz 2' is a very promising field. In addition, in the future it can be linked with other Caspian countries. But in any case, the construction of a third pipeline of European importance is very useful for Georgia,'' Khukhashvili said, recalling that the existing two gas pipelines from Azerbaijan, one of which belongs to the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR, and the second that belongs to the international consortium, provide great benefit to Georgia, ensuring the energy security of the country in the most difficult conditions."
