Azerbaijan and Turkey to build new gas pipeline.

BAKU, October 28 (Itar-Tass) -- Azerbaijan and Turkey will build a new
pipeline for transporting growing volumes of Azerbaijani gas to European
markets, president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOC) Rovnag
Abdullayev said in an interview with the Baku TV channel ANS .
"By 2025, up to 50 billion cubic metres of gas will be produced in
Azerbaijan. To supply a considerable part of this volume to world markets,
an agreement was reached with Turkey to consider a project of building a
new gas pipeline," Abdullayev said. According to him, the project will be
implemented by Azerbaijan and Turkey. At the same time, it is not ruled
out that foreign companies may be attracted to it. "We intend to settle
all questions connected with the implementation of the project during
2012, and, without losing time, begin construction works to finish the new
pipeline by 2017, or by the beginning of the second stage of development
of the gas project Shakh Deniz in the Caspian shelf," the SOC head said.
Gas, which will be produced within the framework of the second stage
the project Shakh Deniz, is also offered to be exported through the
Nabuko, Turkey-Greece-Italy and Trans-Adriatic pipelines, which are part
of the Southern Gas Corridor. All the three consortiums have already
presented their proposals to Azerbaijan which will choose before the end
of the year the most preferable for itself route of supplying gas produced
in the country to Europe.
As Rovnag Adbdullayev said, a package of gas agreements signed by
Azerbaijan and Turkey this week "ensures the transportation of Azerbaijani
gas to the Turkish-Greek and Turkish-Bulgarian borders." "Actually, all
conditions have been created for implementing the Southern Gas Corridor
connecting the Caspian region with Europe," he said.
Azerbaijan's confirmed gas reserves are estimated at 2.6 billion cubic
metres.