Signing ceremony of final investment decision on Shah Deniz-2 project begins

The signing ceremony of the final investment decision on Shah Deniz-2 project has started in Baku today.Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva, the heads of several countries and governments attend the event.Shah Deniz-2 project authorization means the transition of the project from the concept into an immediate implementation stage.The contract to develop the offshore Shah Deniz field was signed on June 4, 1996.Participants to the agreement are: BP (operator) - 25.5 percent, Statoil - 25.5 percent, NICO - 10 percent, Total - 10 percent, Lukoil - 10 percent, TPAO - 9 percent and SOCAR - 10 percent.Shah Deniz reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.The cost of the second phase of development of Shah Deniz gas condensate field is estimated at $25 billion.Within the second phase of development it is planned to produce some 16 billion cubic meters of gas (within the first phase - 9 billion), six billion of which will be transported to Turkey and ten billion to Europe.The consortium of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas condensate field development announced its choice of the TAP project in late June, as a gas transportation route to the European markets.The initial capacity of the TAP pipeline will be 10 billion cubic meters per year with the possibility of expanding to 20 billion cubic meters per year.Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) gas pipeline will be constructed for transportation of gas through Turkey's territory.(Trend)ANN.Az