Georgia supports Europe’s energy diversification
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, May 19
Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has delivered a speech at a special ceremony marking the beginning of construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) that will bring gas from western Turkey to Italy.
Late on May 17 at the special event Kvirikashvili said Georgia, as s transit country, confirmed once again that it supported Europe’s energy diversification and was a reliable partner for major foreign players.
“Across its route, TAP will merge with other existing and planned pipelines that will make energy resources available. Caspian Sea region gas supplies will be transported to central and west Europe,” Kvirikashvili said.
In his speech, Kvirikashvili highlighted the importance of a major, Southern Gas Corridor Project which included TAP and other similar pipelines.
“We are proud Georgia is a partner state of the Southern Gas Corridor project and is inseparable part of the project,” Kvirikashvili said.
The PM said in the frame of the project, through close cooperation between Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey and with the support of their western allies, about 30,000 jobs had been created in the project participant countries.
Kvirikashvili highlighted that Georgia “unconditionally” supported the increase of capacities of the Southern Gas Corridor Project and was ready to participate in all necessary meetings.
Prior to the speech, the PM met his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras, who said the Trans Adriatic Pipeline would enhance Georgia-Greece cooperation in the field of energy.
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the most complex gas value chains ever developed in the world.
Stretching over 3,500 kilometres, crossing seven countries and involving more than a dozen major energy companies, it is comprised of several separate energy projects representing a total investment of approximately $45 billion:
The Shah Deniz 2 development (Azerbaijan), drilling wells and producing gas offshore in the Caspian Sea;
Expansion of the natural gas processing plant at the Sangachal Terminal on the Caspian Sea coast in Azerbaijan;
Three pipeline projects;
South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP-690 km) – Azerbaijan, Georgia;
Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP-1,900 km) – Turkey;
Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP-870km) – Greece, Albania, Italy;
Georgia is a strategic partner of the Southern Gas Corridor project. Works to increase the transit capabilities of SCP has already launched and the cost of the necessary activities reached $2billion.
The project purchased service and goods worth about $400 million in Georgia out of the $2billion, Georgia’s Ministry of Energy wrote.
After the completion of the works the pipeline would transit 16 billion cubic meters of gas instead of existing 6 billion.
The transit of the increased capacities was planned to launch from 2019. From 2020, in exchange for transit, Georgia will receive about one billion cubic meters of gas annually.
