Baku, July 11, AZERTAC

"The Southern Gas Corridor is being successfully implemented today. This project consists of four parts. The first part is Shah Deniz gas field, where the implementation of the Shah Deniz-2 project has already reached 93 per cent and will be fully completed in the months ahead. The second part is the South Caucasus gas pipeline which connects Azerbaijan with Georgia. 87 per cent work has been completed there. The third and the most important part is TANAP gas pipeline which is 77 per cent complete and we will mark the execution of this project in the coming year. And finally, the fourth one is TAP, Trans Adriatic Pipeline, which is 44 per cent complete. All these four significant projects constitute the Southern Gas Corridor. $40 billion investment is required for the implementation of this project whose large part has already been made," said President Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the 22nd World Petroleum Congress held in Istanbul.

"Seven countries are being involved in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project, including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and Italy. Three Balkan countries may also join the Southern Gas Corridor in the years to come. Relevant work is underway in this regard. That is, we expand the geography of the project and we can further expand this in the years ahead because this is the initiative that benefits every country," the President said.

"Today, we can say that the Southern Gas Corridor will be successfully implemented and Azerbaijan will suppply both the European countries and the countries in the region with natural gas for many years."

"Today, gas factor is a key condition for ensuring the energy security in the world. Azerbaijan is contributing to ensuring energy security in this regard. The Azerbaijani gas is the only new gas source to be delivered to Europe because all other gas sources are in operation. A new source has already been discovered. These gas reserves will be delivered to European markets through a new line. I mean, our advantage is that we have both factors here. This is a very serious step towards energy diversification," President Ilham Aliyev added.