Azerbaijan's Jan-May gas exports from Shah Deniz I fall 5.2 pct yr/yr

BAKU, June 15 (Reuters) - Azeri gas exports from the first stage of its giant Shah Deniz field fell by 5.2 percent to 3.031 billion cubic metres (bcm) in the first five months of this year compared with the same period in 2017, the State Statistics Committee said on Friday.

Gas from Shah Deniz I is exported through the South Caucasus pipeline.

Export volumes from Shah Deniz I operated by an international consortium led by BP were 7.314 bcm in 2017.

Azerbaijan's gas exports through all pipelines totalled 9.897 bcm in January-May this year.

The European Union is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian gas by developing the so-called Southern Gas Corridor, which is expected to bring about 16 bcm of gas a year to Europe by 2020.

The gas would come from the Shah Deniz II field via the 1,850 km (1,150 mile) Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) through Turkey, the South Caucasus pipeline extension through Georgia and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP (Shenzhen: 002826.SZ - news) ) to Greece, Albania and Italy. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Adrian Croft)