Fitch ratings agency has affirmed the Southern Gas Corridor — extending from the Caspian Sea to the Adriatic ad Europe — senior unsecured long term debt rating at BB+.
The agency’s statement reflected an unchanged assessment of the corridor’s $2 billion Eurobonds maturing in 2026 fully guaranteed by the Azerbaijan state.
Fitch said the assessment was a result of the “unconditional, unsubordinated and irrevocable guarantee of full and timely repayment” by Azerbaijan.
The main source of hydrocarbons passing through the SJC is the Shah Deniz gasfield in the Caspian.
The route of the SGC is made up of three pipelines – the South Caucasus Pipeline through Georgia and on to the Georgia-Turkey border, the Trans-Anatolian pipeline running through Turkey and the Trans-Adriatic pipeline passing from Greece to Albania, the Adriatic Sea to Italy.
Fitch said that as all the projects were already commissioned, the SGC’s total needs for cash in 2021 would be fully covered by proceeds from the gasfield, the three pipelines and accumulated cash.