Azerbaijan´s outlook in the southern corridor

The Southern Gas Corridor project initiated by the EU to lessen dependence on Russian imported gas with the help of Caspian, primarily Azerbaijani gas is becoming a critical issue as we move toward a final decision making process on the evacuation route of the Shah Deniz phase II project (SD II). In approximately 6-12 months the SD consortium will make a strategic decision of historic significance concerning the selection of the main export pipeline whose construction will inaugurate Europe's Southern Gas Corridor strategy. The two final pipeline projects Nabucco West and TAP (Transadriatic pipeline) under consideration by the SD shareholders offer SOCAR and its partners several advantages and disadvantages. The selected evacuation route must be the most commercially viable and the selected market should be able to offer to the sellers long-term security of demand for a period of at least 20-25 years. The SD decision is not a merely commercial decision since it will benefit the people of Azerbaijan for decades to come. Future generations of Azerbaijanis are unlikely to congratulate decision makers for making less money to put in State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ). There is no room for errors. Even the slightest mistake can have a negative impact on the future well being of the country.