The pipeline would bring Caspian gas to Europe.
Croatian Minister of Environmental Protection and Energy took part in the third meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor in Baku in Azerbaijan, reports Lider on February 24, 2017.
The meeting was attended by ministers covering the energy portfolio from Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Greece, Georgia, Croatia, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Turkmenistan and Turkey, along with representatives of the European Commission, the United States and Great Britain. At the meeting, ministers were informed about the progress of the Southern Gas Corridor project. They discussed issues that affect its implementation.
“The Southern Gas Corridor is a very important project for Europe’s energy security and for the diversification of gas supply routes. The project can contribute to strengthening of energy independence of the European Union, which would have significant benefits for Croatia as well. More gas supply routes mean less dependence on a single supplier, which can affect the price of gas. In this way, we would create long-term conditions for lower and more stable prices of natural gas both for industry and consumers, which is important for further economic development, but also for citizens who use gas to heat their homes and for other purposes”, said Minister of Environmental Protection and Energy Slaven Dobrović.
The Southern Gas Corridor would connect the Caspian gas field ShahDeniz II via Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece and Albania to Italy. Croatia would use the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) to connect to a part of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will go from Greece via Albania to Italy. IAP and TAP should be developed and built at the same time, and the connection point is expected to be located in Albania.
The Croatian part of the IAP from Split to the border with Montenegro would be about 252 kilometres long and the cost of its construction is estimated to be around 330 million euros.
During his visit to Baku, Minister Dobrović held bilateral meetings with the Azerbaijani Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, with the Minister of Energy, with representatives of the Azerbaijani national oil company SOCAR, and with the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Diplomacy.
