Tag: Southern gas corridor

Nabucco chief executive Reinhard Mitschek, who leads one of he two companies competing to obtain 10 billion of cubic metres of gas annually from the Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan, made the case that his project means more diversification of exports for Azerbaijan by bringing its gas to at least 16 countries in Europe.

Nabucco West and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the two companies competing for Azerbaijani gas projects, have issued simultaneous statements today (29 March) that they have submitted the final package supporting their bids. The Shah Deniz consortium will chose between the two in June.

Representatives of Nabucco and TAP, the rival pipelines planned to carry gas from the Shah Deniz II offshore field in Azerbaijan, both told EurActiv they were in a better position to obtain the contract. A decision by Azerbaijan is expected in June.

Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz II gas group could agree to take a 50% stake in the Nabucco pipeline consortium by January, boosting Nabucco's prospects in a competition between projects that aim to pipe Azeri offshore gas into Europe.

At least three explosions severed Turkish pipelines carrying natural gas from Iran and Azerbaijan, media reported on Friday (19 October). Turkey is seen as a key transit country for supplying Europe.

Russia’s Gazprom and the Bulgarian government have reached a deal under which Bulgaria will commit to the developing the South Stream pipeline while simultaneously signing a long-term pricing agreement for Russian natural gas.

Turkey and Azerbaijan have signed an agreement to build the Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline (TANAP), a move welcomed by the European Commission as a major step towards completing the Southern Gas Corridor project.

As long as the consortium managing the gas from Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan is ready and willing to guarantee supplies of gas to Italy via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Gazprom's South Stream project "is irrelevant", TAP Managing Director Kjetil Tungland told EurActiv in an exclusive interview.

Without the participation of the Turkey-Greece-Italy Interconnector (ITGI), no other competitor can complete the offshore section to Italy, says the chief executive of Greece's publicly owned gas company DEPA. The project is intended to transport gas from Azerbaijan to Europe in 2018.

Azerbaijan has eliminated one of the main competitors bidding for the gas of the Shah Deniz II offshore field, apparently over concerns that one of project's partners, Greek gas company DEPA, would not be able to carry on with the project.

A smaller, cheaper alternative to the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline could be the best choice to carry Caspian natural gas to Europe, though Nabucco retains US political support, Washington's special envoy for Eurasian energy said in Baku. 

ITGI, the Turkey-Greece-Italy Interconnector, offers the quickest way to open up the Southern Gas corridor, and could pump Azeri gas into Bulgaria as soon as from 2013, Harry Sachinis, Chairman & CEO Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEPA), told EurActiv in an exclusive interview.

Russian energy giant Gazprom held an event in Brussels yesterday (25 May) to promote its South Stream gas pipeline but failed to answer questions about the project, which is seen as a competitor to the EU's own Nabucco plan.

The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and Plinacro Ltd., a natural gas transmission system operator in Croatia, signed an agreement on Friday (25 February) providing for a future extension of the planned gas pipeline to Montenegro, Bosnia and Croatia.

On a visit to Azerbaijan yesterday (13 January), European Commission President José Manuel Barroso signed a deal expected to bring ten billion cubic metres of gas each year to Europe, promising in return "visa facilitation" for Azeri nationals.

Pipeline projects with a political design, such as the EU-favoured Nabucco pipeline and the Gazprom-sponsored South Stream, are expensive compared to similar projects based on cost effectiveness, Kjetil Tungland, managing director of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), told EurActiv in an interview.

Araz Azimov, deputy foreign minister of Azerbaijan, said yesterday (2 November) that the Eastern Partnership, the EU's initiative for developing relations with its Eastern neigbours, was not adequate to address geopolitical challenges in the Caucasus.