BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 18 (UPI) -- Starting FEED work at the Shah Deniz 2 gas field in the Azeri waters of the Caspian Sea means a decision on pipeline routes is forthcoming, a consortium said.
The consortium managing the Shah Deniz 2 gas field off the coast of Azerbaijan said it started work on front end engineering and design.
The consortium, led by BP, said the entry into FEED means more wells will be drilled and commercial agreements will be finalized for the giant offshore natural gas field.
"With over 30 trillion cubic feet of gas resources, Shah Deniz is truly a giant field," Rashid Javanshir, president of the Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey region of BP, said in a statement.
Shah Deniz 2 will provide gas from the Caspian Sea to consumer markets in Turkey and Europe through the so-called Southern Corridor of natural gas transit networks.
Agreements are in place to build the Trans Anatolia Pipeline through Turkey. An initial smaller phase of the planned 2,100-mile Nabucco pipeline, dubbed Nabucco West, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline and the South East Europe Pipeline are in the running for natural gas from Shah Deniz 2.
The BP-led consortium will make a route decision next year. First gas from Shah Deniz 2 is expected at the end of 2017.
