South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion Project (SCPX)NDT Inspection, Quality Control Service
The discovery and development of the giant Shah Deniz gas condensate field in the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) enabled Azerbaijan to become a major gas exporter in 2006. Since then, over 40 billion cubic meters of Shah Deniz gas has been supplied to Azerbaijani, Georgian and Turkish consumers.
SCPX background
The existing 42-inch diameter SCP system is currently being expanded – the SCPX project – as part of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 development to build capacity to export an additional 16 billion cubic meters per year (bcma) of sales gas to the Georgia-Turkey border. SCPX forms the first link in a chain of pipelines creating a new Southern Gas Corridor, which will bring Caspian gas to Europe for the very first time.
The expanded SCP system will tie into the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Eastern Turkey border which, in turn, will connect with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) at the Western Turkey border some 1,900 kilometers (km) away. TAP crosses Greece and Albania, from where it continues under the Adriatic Sea to Southern Italy. The total length of the TAP is about 870 km.
SCPX overview
The existing SCP commences at the Sangachal Terminal in Azerbaijan and runs underground to its endpoint at the Georgia-Turkey border. SCPX will expand the existing 7 bcma SCP system to accommodate a further 16 bcma with a new 48-inch pipeline loop, constructed parallel to the existing SCP.
The SCPX project also includes construction of a number of facilities. These comprise two new compressor stations in Georgia, two intermediate pigging stations (one each in Azerbaijan and Georgia), six 48-inch block valve stations (one in Georgia and five in Azerbaijan), pressure reduction and metering stations at the international borders, and the interconnection with TANAP at the Georgia-Turkey border. The execution of the SCPX project is based on an overall philosophy of safe design and quality build.
Our role in SCPX
Inter Gas Service provides quality control services to the project. Our highly qualified specialists, which are trained and certified under international standards, implement diagnostic inspections of welding joints by the non-destructive method and check the quality of the materials in accordance with European standards.
