Greece agrees on gas supplies from Azerbaijan

Greece has resolved all the issues necessary to receive Azerbaijani gas through the Southern Gas Corridor, said Nikos Kotzias, Greek Foreign Minister, at a meeting with Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natiga Aliyev.

Aliyev, in turn, said that the successful implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project is very important for the development of energy cooperation between Greece and Azerbaijan. "About 50 percent of the work on the Shah Deniz 2 project has been completed," Aliyev said. "Eight of the 26 planned production wells have already been drilled," he said.

"The implementation of projects to expand the South Caucasus Pipeline, the construction of TANAP and other work on the Southern Gas Corridor are underway, despite the fall in oil prices," Aliyev said. He noted that work on the project will not be suspended and the project will be completed on time.

The Southern Gas Corridor project envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe (with the possibility of increasing to 20 billion cubic meters). This large project is aimed at diversifying routes and sources of energy supply, which will contribute to strengthening energy security in Europe, excluding Russia as a monopolist as a supplier, and Ukraine as a monopolist in gas transit.

Aliyev also expressed gratitude to Greece for supporting the construction of the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP), because "if the pipeline is not ready, then Azerbaijani gas will not be able to be supplied to Europe." “Thus, the timely implementation of the project will be effective for both parties,” he added.

Kotzias, in turn, praised the role of TAP in ensuring energy security in Europe. "Azerbaijani gas will be able to be supplied to Europe through TAP in the near future," Kotzias added. He also expressed hope for an early settlement of the deal on the acquisition of a stake in the Greek gas operator DESFA.

The parties also discussed issues related to the holding of the second meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor project at the end of February.