BAKU: The first phase of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) pipeline from Azerbaijan to Europe will open in July and could be expanded after it becomes fully operational in 2020, Azeri state energy company SOCAR said.
SGC’s three pipelines — the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the South Caucasus Pipeline through Georgia and the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) through Turkey — will provide the first direct route for carrying gas from Azerbaijan’s giant Shah Deniz field to markets in Europe.
“We will start first commercial supplies of gas to Turkey (through TANAP) in early July this year,” Vitaly Baylarbayov, SOCAR deputy vice president, said in an interview with Reuters.
TAP, the 870-kilometer (541-mille) end piece of the $40 billion corridor, has been more challenging, due to protests against it by environmentalists in Italy.
The European Investment Bank approved a 1.5 billion euro ($1.9 billion) loan for TAP earlier this month and Baylarbayov said that the operating consortium would continue to seek funds for the project.
“We can say now that the (SGC) pipeline will be put into operation on time, in 2020,” Baylarbayov said.
The Shah Deniz I field, which has been pumping gas since 2006, has a production capacity of 8 billion cubic meters (bcm), and output from Shah Deniz II is expected to reach 16 bcm of natural gas per year, with 10 bcm earmarked for Europe and 6 bcm for Turkey.
Baylarbayov said SGC could be expanded if promising new gas fields in Azerbaijan can be developed.
He mentioned the Absheron gas field, where SOCAR is drilling in partnership with French oil company Total, and the Karabakh field which it is due to explore with Norway’s Statoil.
Azerbaijan’s Umid and Babek fields could also be developed as could the next stage of Shah Deniz, he said.
“Many foreign companies are also expressing interest in development of Umid and Babek fields together with SOCAR and we are in talks with them,” he said without elaborating on details of talks.
Azerbaijan to open first phase of Southern Gas Corridor to Turkey in July
Azerbaijan to open first phase of Southern Gas Corridor to Turkey in July
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 11,183
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Monday, losing 44.79 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 11,183.85.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.05 billion ($1.08 billion), as 69 of the listed stocks advanced, while 191 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 6.63 points or 0.44 percent, to close at 1,504.73.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 328.20 points, or 1.36 percent, to close at 23,764.92. This comes as 22 of the listed stocks advanced, while 49 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Maharah Human Resources Co., with its share price surging by 7.26 percent to SR6.50.
Other top performers included Arabian Cement Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.27 percent to SR22.71, and Saudi Research and Media Group, which saw a 4.3 percent increase to SR104.30.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co., whose share price fell by 8.01 percent to SR207.80.
Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology and Al-Rajhi Co. for Cooperative Insurance also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 5.61 percent and 4.46 percent to SR12.79 and SR75, respectively.
On the announcement front, Etihad Etisalat Co. announced its financial results for 2025 with a 7.9 percent year-on-year growth in its revenues, to reach SR19.6 billion.
In a Tadawul statement, Mobily said that this growth is attributed to “the expansion of all revenue streams, with a healthy growth in the overall subscriber base.”
Mobily delivered an 11.6 percent increase in net profit, reaching SR3.4 billion in 2025 compared to SR3.1 billion in 2024.
The company’s share price reached SR67.85, marking a 0.37 percent increase on the main market.
