"Of course, our main focus now is on completing the Southern Gas Corridor," said President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in an interview to Azerbaijan Television following the ceremony of the sail away of Garabagh field jacket on August 10, EDNews.net reports citing the Presidential press service.

Azerbaijani President noted that this project is also being implemented successfully.

"Its fourth and last component, the TAP project, is already nearing completion. So I believe that in a matter of a few months the construction of three interconnected gas pipeline systems with a total length of 3,500 kilometers will be fully completed at the initiative of the Azerbaijani state and as a result of large-scale international cooperation, and Azerbaijani gas will be transported to Europe. Thus, the Southern Gas Corridor will be fully commissioned. This is a very important and, I think, a historic event for us, as it will pave the way for the full-field development of the Shah Deniz field.

I should also note that without the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor, investors would not have invested in this and any other project or would have been in doubt. For example, the exports of gas to be produced from the Absheron gas condensate field, as well as Garabagh and other fields, require a route. Therefore, the importance of the Southern Gas Corridor is not limited to the Shah Deniz project alone. Without the implementation of this project, our energy policy could have remained incomplete. But our energy policy today fully secures the interests of our country. The Shah Deniz field will provide gas to Azerbaijan and partner countries for at least another hundred years. At the same time, we intend to expand the geography of our exports. Gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy. If there is a gas network in Albania, then Albania will become our natural partner – we can export gas there too. It is possible to deliver Azerbaijani gas to other neighboring countries – the countries of the Balkan region.

Therefore, the Southern Gas Corridor is our historic achievement, and there is little time left for its completion. I want to reiterate that the work carried out at all our fields is carried out in a focused manner. All projects complement each other. If the contract on Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli had not been signed in 1994, there would have been no question of any other project. If the contract on Shah Deniz had not been signed, we would not be able to create our energy security today, not to mention the energy security of other countries, because Shah Deniz is the main source for us. By doing all this work, we are redrawing an energy map of Eurasia. Azerbaijan will remain a strategic partner for many countries for a long time," the head of the state emphasized.