The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) and Turkish gas monopolist BOTAS are forming a consortium for gas exports from the Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea to the European Union, ABC reports.
SOCAR Vice-President Elshad Nasirov said at a conference on the role of the State Oil Fund in the National Oil Strategy of Azerbaijan that Turkey will receive 600 million cubic meters of gas as payment for transit. The figure will then be increased to 10 billion cubic meters with construction of a new gas pipeline, which will allow gas exports from the east to the west through Turkey.
Nasirov noted that launching Shah Deniz-2 would not postpone realization of Nabucco and TAP. Azerbaijan is searching for new opportunities for gas exports from other fields.
Azerbaijan will provide 10 billion cubic meters of gas from Shah Deniz-2. The country wants to extract 50 billion cubic meters annually and export most of it to Europe.
Gas exports will rise. Azerbaijan currently exports gas to Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Iran and Greece. Development of Shah Deniz-2 will allow gas to be exported through Turkey and other states, Nasirov concludes.
Togrul Ismail, assistant professor of the Faculty for International Relations of the Ankara University of Economics and Technology (TOBB), said that Turkey is interested in Azerbaijani gas. Russia and Turkey have recently improved ties. Turkey purchases Russian gas. 63% of gas consumed in Turkey comes from Russia. Economists believe that Turkey may have alternative variants to become more independent from the supplier. Azerbaijan is an obvious solution. A new gas pipeline for Shah Deniz fuel will be built by 2017, Ismail goes on.
A new consortium would not be an obstacle for Nabucco. On the contrary, it will have several alternatives for gas exports. Azerbaijan and Turkey show that they may build their own road to Europe, Togrul Ismail concludes.
