Southern Gas Corridor remains priority for EU

The European Union’s policy towards the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project remains unchanged, the European Commission press service told Trend commenting on the SGC project’s importance as compared to the Turkish Stream project.

The SGC project is still a priority for the EU’s diversification and energy security strategy, the European Commission said.

The European Commission didn’t give any comment on the importance of the Turkish Stream for the future of Europe’s energy security.

Russia and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement on the implementation of the Turkish Stream project on Oct. 10. The agreement is for construction of two branches of the pipeline through the Black Sea, the capacity of each branch being 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.

At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor project. Other sources can also join this project at a later stage.

As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of TANAP and TAP.