Sabah – The ground has been broken for the first phase of the pipeline project designed to carry Azeri gas to Turkish and European consumers. The natural gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field will reach Italy via a 3500-kilometer pipeline passing through Georgia, Türkiye and Greece, providing an alternative to Russian gas.
The South Caucasus pipeline will carry natural gas from Sangachal terminal located to the south of Baku to the Turkish-Georgian border where it will link with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) traversing Türkiye to connect with the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) on Türkiye’s western border with Greece.
Attended by Türkiye’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Taner Yildiz, the construction of the pipeline marks the first stage of the South Gas Corridor, a vital step towards increasing Europe’s energy security.
The second section of the pipeline, TANAP, is slated to enter construction stage by 2015, with the first flow of gas taking place in 2018. Planned to carry 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year, the pipeline will deliver 6 billion to Türkiye and the rest to European consumers.