Kristian Hausken, president StatoilHydro Azerbaijan, said on the sidelines of a gas conference in Sofia that problems in setting transit conditions were behind the expected delay.
Hausken said: Shah-Deniz is mature to take decisions to be developed provided we see a commercial solution. And the longer it takes to get the commercial solution and by this I mean transit, the longer it is delayed in a way.
The challenge is to get the transit conditions that can enable Shah Deniz gas to get to Europe. When that is ready then we have a project and then we can see deliveries around 2016, Hausken told the news agency.
Turkey and Azerbaijan are in negotiations regarding the transit of the gas, but these have been postponed by demands from Ankara for a share of the gas that will pass through Turkish territory.
A BP source said in March 2009 that the commence-up of the second production phase would be in 2014 at the earliest from a previous target of 2011 to 2012.
It will not be 2011 to 2012, it will also not be 2014. It will be later, around 2016 plus or minus, Hausken said.
We are at a stage where we cannot move strongly ahead without having more security in knowing which direction and how it is going to be commercialised, he added.
Socar along with Lukoil Oil Company, Total S.A and Iranian and Turkish state companies, are partner in Shah Deniz,.
