An offshore gas field project in Azerbaijan is receiving funding worth $1billion (£0.64bn).

The project, Shah Deniz Stage II, will bring gas to south-eastern Europe, a region said to be substantially dependent on coal and gas from a single source of supply.

It will be transported through a chain of pipelines, including the planned Trans-Anatolian and Trans-Adriatic and the the South Caucasus Pipeline which will be extended under the project.

The network will transport gas from Azerbaijan through Georgia and Turkey to Greece and Bulgaria and on to Italy.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are lending $250 million (£161m) each and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB)  providing  $60 million (£39m).

The total cost of the development is expected to top $47 billion (£30bn).

Michael Barrow, Deputy Director General of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department said: “This will be the largest gas field development project undertaken in Azerbaijan, generating more economic opportunities and helping to boost closer regional ties with Georgia and Europe.”

BP will build and operate the project, which is expected to start production in 2018 and create more than 16,000 jobs.