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“For a decade, the EU has nurtured an almost absurdly ambitious plan – to pump natural gas from the Caspian Sea thousands of miles into the heart of Europe, and so reduce its heavy reliance on gas from Russia. When that plan finally got the go-ahead in December, it felt like a bit of a damp squib,” the British newspaper Financial Times writes.

The article notes that according to the agreement signed in Baku about $45 billion will be invested in the project Shah Deniz II.

“Yet the amount of gas that will actually be piped into the EU is small – 10bn cubic metres per annum, which represents just 2 per cent of the 500 bcm Europe consumes every year. Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled gas exporter sells 15 times that amount to Europe. No wonder its managers privately joke that the Azeri gas will be “just about enough for a barbecue,”” the British newspaper reports.

As it is noted in the article, the project also has some supporters, particularly Riccardo Puliti, head of energy and natural resources at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The author notes that in spite of “the pomp that accompanied the signing of the Shah Deniz II agreement, uncertainties remain.” In particular, some experts wonder whether Europe needs Azerbaijani gas, given the sharp drop in demand of natural gas on the continent.

Note, that on 17th of December in 2013 in Baku some agreements were signed for the development of Shah Deniz field. Total cost of Shah Deniz II equals to $45 billion (including the construction projects of TANAP and TAP pipelines). The participants of Shah Deniz project are BP, Statoil, SOCAR, Lukoil, NICO, Total and TPAO.

Note, as well that the Deputy Finance Minister of Azerbaijan Azer Bayramov recently stated that Azerbaijan should say goodbye to the prospects of large gas profits and that in the next 4 years under the framework of Shah Deniz project Azerbaijan cannot hope for anything. “After 4 years we won’t get a single penny from the sale of gas,” Azerbaijani official said linking it with large-scale investments that the participants of the Consortium should give at the beginning of the second phase of the development of Shah Deniz field.