AzerNews.

The U.S. congratulates the Azerbaijani government and all of the parties involved, including Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR, the Shah Deniz consortium’s private shareholders, and all of the countries along the Southern Gas Corridor, on the successful completion of the Shah Deniz -2 final investment decision.

U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar said in his statement issued following the ceremony on the Shah Deniz -2 final investment decision signing on December 17.

“This agreement and the planned pipelines will be instrumental in guaranteeing the energy security of Turkey, southern Europe, the Balkans and the rest of Europe,” he said.

By bringing Caspian gas to international markets, this initiative will also contribute to meeting global energy demand, which is critical to sustaining economic growth, the statement rreads.

“I am proud to have been involved with this project for several years and to have witnessed today’s historic agreement,” the ambassador said.

The Shah Deniz Consortium has made the final investment decision (FID) on the second stage of offshore gas condensate field development. The ceremony of signing of the document kicked off in Baku on December 17.

Southern Gas Corridor is a major project, which is designed to meet the European gas needs for decades to come.

The gas which will be produced in the second phase of Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source of the Southern Gas Corridor project. A consortium of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas condensate field development announced its choice of the TAP project in late June, as a gas transportation route to the European markets.

The final investment decision on Shah Deniz-2 project was adopted in Baku on December 17.

Shah Deniz-2 project authorization means the transition of the project from the concept into an immediate implementation stage.

Shah Deniz reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas. The cost of the second phase of development of Shah Deniz gas condensate field is estimated at $25 billion.

Within the second phase of development it is planned to produce some 16 billion cubic meters of gas, six billion of which will be transported to Turkey and ten billion to Europe.