Georgia reaffirms support for Southern Gas Corridor project

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.