Georgia reaffirms support for Southern Gas Corridor project
Tweet 
Share
Energy ministers from the Southern Gas Corridor member-states, including Georgian Minister Kakha Kaladze, gathered today in Baku to attend the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council.
The Southern Gas Corridor consists of a chain of pipelines which will transport gas from the Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan to Europe via Georgia and Turkey.
The pipeline starts from the Sangachal terminal near Baku. It follows the route of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) crude oil pipeline through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey, where it is linked to the Turkish gas distribution system.
The ministers and other participants of the event discussed the development process of Shah Deniz Stage 2 – one of the largest gas developments in the world which will help increase European energy security by bringing Caspian gas resources to markets in Europe for the very first time.
The timely and orderly development of the Southern Gas Corridor is very important in order avoid an energy crisis and the danger that is obvious for everyone today. I am glad that Georgia plays an important role in the European Union energy supply diversification process”, said Kaladze.
He later added that as a transit country, Georgia is interested in energy safety and a stable environment in the region.
The Shah Deniz Stage 2 project will allow for natural gas to be transported to Italy via Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece and Albania. The total cost of the project is $45 billion and the length of the pipeline is 3,460 km.
PM Kvirikashvili and BP head applaud 20 year partnership
Georgia has enjoyed two decades of fruitful cooperation with one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies British Petroleum (BP).
The European Union (EU) is extremely interested in expanding energy cooperation with Caspian Sea countries, said EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan Malena Mardi at the Caspian Oil and Gas forum held in Baku yesterday.
Work has begun today on a new gas pipeline that will travel through Georgia to better connect Europe with gas from the Caspian Sea, thus reducing dependence on Russian gas.
Four villages in Georgia’s eastern Shida Kartli region – Idleti, Tsinarekhi, Lavriskhevi and Gomijvari will have natural gas provision from now on.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday called the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project linking Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye across the South Caucasus "one of the most successful energy initiatives in the world".
Georgia has proven to be a “valuable participant” of the Southern Gas Corridor, a route delivering gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, and plays a “key role” in energy resources reaching European markets, Romeo Mikautadze, the Deputy Economy Minister, said on Friday.