BP- First Shah Deniz II Gas to Reach Europe in 2020

The first gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz II project will be delivered to Europe in the first quarter of 2020, a BP spokesman said on Friday.

Shah Deniz, Azerbaijan's biggest gas field, is operated by BP with partners TPAO of Turkey, Azerbaijan's SOCAR, Russian oil firm Lukoil and Iran's Nico (Naftiran Intertrade Co).

"First gas will be produced in the Caspian in 2018 and in 2018 it's expected to be exported to Georgia and Turkey, and then in 2020 we're expecting gas exports beyond Turkey into Europe -- into Greece, Bulgaria and Italy," the spokesman said.

Research and analysis group Energy Intelligence reported on Thursday that the first gas deliveries to Europe from Shah Deniz via the southern gas corridor being opened across Turkey had been pushed back to the first quarter of 2020 from 2019.

For the European Union, Shah Deniz II is an important alternative to Russia's Gazprom for gas supplies. It is expected to supply 20 percent of EU needs in the long term from proven reserves estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic metres.

The first phase, Shah Deniz I, has been pumping gas since 2006 and has an annual production capacity of about 10 billion cubic metres of natural gas.

(Reporting by Sarah McFarlane; Editing by Nina Chestney and Dale Hudson)