The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is ready to consider the possibility of participating in the financing of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) expansion project, the head of the bank’s representative office in Azerbaijan, Kamola Mahmudova, said. “We have expressed our readiness to consider the SGC expansion project to increase the volume of Azerbaijani gas exports under three main conditions. The first is diagnostics, that is, the preparation of a feasibility study (feasibility study) of the project, the second is that the project must meet the goals of the Paris agreement (on climate – IF), which Azerbaijan signed, the third is that the project must comply with all environmental standards of the EBRD,” Mahmudova said in an interview with the Azerbaijani CBC TV channel. Mahmudova noted that the completion of the feasibility study of the project is expected in the spring of 2023. “The feasibility study will be ready in the spring and then we will sit down at the negotiating table. We welcome this project, we have the support of the EU, so we are ready to support it,” she said. On July 4, 2018, the EBRD approved a loan of $500 million to finance the construction of the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP), through which Azerbaijani gas enters Europe. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev launched the Southern Gas Corridor on May 29, 2018. Initially, the cost of the project was estimated at $45 billion, but the project cost $33 billion. The main components of the SGC are: Stage-2 of the Shah Deniz project, expansion of the Baku-Georgia-Border with Turkey South Caucasus pipeline, construction of the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) from the eastern to western border of Turkey and the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP) connecting Greece, Albania and southern Italy. Azerbaijan started exporting gas to Europe on December 31, 2020. Currently, the buyers of Azerbaijani gas in the EU are Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. At the same time, there is still a group of countries that want to buy gas from Azerbaijan. In 2022, Azerbaijan increased gas exports by 18% to 22.3 bcm. At the same time, Azerbaijani gas exports to Europe amounted to 11.4 bcm (an increase of 39% compared to 2021) or 51% of all supplies from Azerbaijan. In 2023, gas exports are planned at the level of over 24 bcm, of which about half are to Europe. According to the agreements between Azerbaijan and the EU, by 2027 the volume of Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe should reach 20 bcm per year. To this end, it is planned to increase the capacity of the gas pipelines included in the SGC system
Source: Turan News Agency