Southern Gas Corridor may help to resolve some regional and global energy issues, Kurt Donnelly, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Energy Resources, U.S. Department of State said.
Addressing the 5th Annual Trans-Caspian Forum, Donnelly noted that for decades now there have been repeated efforts to find a way to include Turkmenistan gas into the Southern Gas Corridor or in other ways to be exported to markets in Europe.
“That opportunity may not be there for much longer. Europe is undergoing a very fundamental change in its energy systems. The outlook for natural gas demand is uncertain right now and it raises a question which is - does Europe needs new sources of natural gas?. For a long time Turkmenistan seemed to be an answer for Europe when natural gas demand was growing dramatically. Right now, there is a risk that Turkmenistan may miss this opportunity. The world is changing and something that was a valuable resource 20 years ago and everybody wanted to buy it, may not be the case in another decade,” he added.
The Southern Gas Corridor, which is comprised of Shah Deniz 2, the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion, the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) became fully operational on December 31, 2020.
Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) AG confirmed on Dec. 31 the commencement of gas flows from Azerbaijan. The first gas has reached Greece and Bulgaria, via the Nea Mesimvria interconnection point with DESFA, as well as Italy, via the Melendugno interconnection point with SNAM Rete Gas (SRG).
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