BAKU, March 29 (Reuters) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB)is considering a $450 million loan to Azerbaijan to help expandits Shah Deniz natural gas project, the bank said on Tuesday.
Azerbaijan's biggest gas field, Shah Deniz is beingdeveloped by BP, Azeri state energy firm SOCAR andothers. It holds an estimated 1.2 trillion cubic metres of gas.
Europe is looking to Azerbaijan as it seeks to diversify itsgas imports and lessen its reliance on Russian energy.
Shah Deniz I has been pumping gas since 2006 and has anannual production capacity of about 10 billion cubic metres(bcm) of natural gas.
Shah Deniz II is expected to produce 16 bcm of gas a yearbeginning in 2019-2020, with 10 bcm earmarked for Europe and 6bcm for Turkey.
"The ADB has started a review of the project, but there isno precise schedule for its approval. The ADB is evaluating itspossible financing in the amount of $450 million," the bank saidin a statement.
The second stage of the Shah Deniz field developmentincludes 26 subsea wells, two offshore platforms, gas andcondensate subsea pipelines and the expansion of the Sangachalterminal near the Azeri capital Baku and the South CaucasusPipeline. The expansion project is estimated at $28 billion.
Azerbaijan is separately seeking international funding tobuild the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans AdriaticPipeline (TAP) which will form the Southern Gas Corridor. It hasso far raised $1 billion via a Eurobond issue. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; writing by Margarita Antidze;editing by Jason Neely)