The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project aims to increase and diversify European energy supply by bringing Azerbaijani gas produced within the second phase of the Shah Deniz Gas Condensate Field Development Project to Türkiye and the European Union. The pipeline also has a potential to deliver natural gas from other fields in Azerbaijan and third-party gas to the world market in the future.
The SGC, which is among the priority energy projects for the EU, comprises four segments: Shah Deniz-2, South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion (SCPX), Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
The foundation of the SGC was laid on the 20th of September 2014. The inauguration of the SGC was held in Baku on the 29th of May 2018 and the section of TANAP to Eskishehir, Türkiye, an important part of this corridor, was commissioned on the 12th of June 2018. The first commercial gas within the Shah Deniz 2 project was delivered to Türkiye via TANAP on the 30th of June 2018. The inauguration of the European connection of TANAP was held on the 30th of November 2019. With the commissioning of the TAP pipeline on the 31st of December 2020, the first phase of the SGC was completed and for the first time in history, Azerbaijani gas started to be delivered to Europe. The $33-billion megaproject connecting the Caspian region with South-East Europe makes a valuable contribution to the economic development of both Azerbaijan and transit countries.
Full-field development of the Shah Deniz gas and condensate field
The full-field development (FFD) of the Shah Deniz gas and condensate field or Shah Deniz 2 (SD2) is one of the largest and complex gas projects in the world and the first underwater infrastructure in the Caspian Sea. SD2 added 16 billion m3 of natural gas and 105,000 bbl gas condensate to SD1’s 11 billion m3 gas production capacity and 60,000 bbl daily condensate capacity. On the 19th of September 2013, the Shah Deniz consortium signed gas sale agreements with 9 European companies. The Final Investment Decision was made on the 17th of December 2013. The first commercial gas transportation to Türkiye began on the 30th of June 2018, and to Europe on the 31st of December 2020.
The project includes the following works:
- construction of two offshore platforms connected by a bridge,
- drilling of 26 gas production wells through a semi-submersible rig,
- construction of 500 km subsea pipelines that will connect the wells with the onshore terminal,
- upgrading the offshore construction vessels,
- expansion of Sangachal Terminal to accommodate new gas processing and compressing facilities.
Shareholders:
- bp – 29.99%
- Southern Gas Corridor CJSC – 21.02%
- Lukoil – 19.99%
- NICO – 10%
- TPAO – 19%
South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP)
The 692 km (Azerbaijan – 443 km, Georgia – 249 km) 42-inch South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) was constructed for the transportation of Shah Deniz gas to the Georgia-Türkiye border. The first gas reached the Türkiye border in 2006. To minimise its impact on the environment, SCP was constructed through the same corridor as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline. The SCP’s annual transportation capacity is 7.41 billion m3.
Shareholders:
- bp – 29.99%
- Southern Gas Corridor CJSC – 21.02%
- Lukoil – 19.99%
- NICO – 10%
- TPAO – 19%
South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion (SCPX)
As part of the expansion, a 48-inch pipeline with a total length of 489 km (424 km in Azerbaijan, 63 km in Georgia, 2 km in the TANAP interconnection) and two new compressor stations were built in Georgia. The pipeline’s transportation capacity has been increased to a total of 24.04 bln m3. The annual capacity of SCPX can be increased up to 34 bln m3. The pipeline was commissioned on the 30th of June 2018.
TANAP
The intergovernmental agreement on TANAP between Azerbaijan and Türkiye was signed on the 26th of June 2012 and was ratified by the appropriate law-making bodies of both countries.
The main technical and economic indicators of the project:
- Length of the pipeline - 1850 km (including offshore pipeline 2x18.5 km under Çanakkale strait (Dardanelles),
- Starting from the Ardahan region, Türkiye on the Türkiye-Georgian border, passes through 20 cities, 69 districts and 604 villages, the pipeline is connected with TAP in Ipsala, Edirne on Türkiye-Greece border,
- The section of pipeline until Eskishehir was commissioned on the 12th of June 2018, the connection to Europe was inaugurated on the 30th of November 2019,
- Initial transportation capacity: annually 16.2 bln m³ (can be increased annually to 31 bln m³),
- Total investment - $6.3 billion,
- The initial investment saved 46%.
Shareholders:
- Southern Gas Corridor CJSC – 51%
- BOTAŞ - 30%
- bp – 12%
- SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.Ş. – 7%
TAP
On the 28th of June 2013, the Shah Deniz consortium announced the selection of the TAP gas pipeline to deliver gas from the Shah Deniz-2 project to consumers in Greece, Italy and Southeast Europe. The pipeline considers transportation of Azerbaijani gas via Greece and Albania, across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy. The TAP pipeline project has been included in the European Commission’s list of 33 priority energy security projects of common interest.
The main technical and economic indicators of the project:
- Length of the pipeline: 880.8 km (Greece - 551.5 km; Albania - 215.9 km; Adriatic Sea - 105 km; Italy - 8.4 km)
- Groundbreaking in May 2016, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Commissioning: the 31st of December 2020
- Initial transportation capacity: annually 10.5 bln m³ (can be increased annually to 20 bln m³)
- TAP construction capital expenditures for Phase 1 reached circa €4.5 bln
Shareholders:
- Southern Gas Corridor CJSC - 20%
- bp – 20%
- Snam – 20%
- Fluxys – 20%
- Enagas – 20%
The SGC project is one of the key elements of the energy strategy aimed at diversifying the Azerbaijani economy.
As a result of this project, there will be no losers. Everyone will benefit. Transit and consumer countries will also be able to diversify gas supplies. The Southern Gas Corridor will ensure Europe’s energy security.
Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan