Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

A project of supplying Turkmen gas to Europe is quite real and only systematic work on its implementation is required, Russian media quoted Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov as saying at a briefing focused on the UN adoption of the resolution on reliable and stable transit of energy resources initiated by Turkmenistan.

According to him, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) conduct serious substantive work in a trilateral format to draft a document on main principles of gas supply from the Caspian region to Europe.

"The reliability of supplies to Europe directly depends on how we form our partnership scheme," he said.

There are no direct arrangements yet for the implementation of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project aimed at the gas supply to the European market.

The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline running around 300 kilometers will be laid from the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, where it will be linked to the Southern Gas Corridor. The pipeline's capacity is 30-40 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

Talks on the construction of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline between Turkmenistan, the EU and other countries have been held since late 1990s. The negotiation process intensified after the EU issued a mandate to start negotiations on the preparation of an agreement between the EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on the Trans-Caspian project in September 2011.

Official Ashgabat believes that the agreement of the parties (Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan), territories of which are covered by the project, is sufficient for laying the pipe under the Caspian Sea, the legal status of which has not yet been determined. Baku has expressed readiness to provide its territory, transit opportunities and infrastructure for its implementation, as reported by the representatives of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).

Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natig Aliyev said earlier that drafting of two documents under the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project is drawing to a close and they must be signed by Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan's presidents and head of the European Commission, as well as the governments of the two littoral countries.

According to Aliyev, the first document will feature the support to the project by the three sides, while the second one must be signed between the Azerbaijani and Turkmen governments.

"We have conducted several meetings in this regard and now one can say that the documents are ready," Aliyev said, adding that only a few issues are to be clarified.

The minister noted that Turkmenistan has expressed its support for the project implementation. This means the Turkmen side is ready to deliver around 30 billion cubic meters of gas for the project. In turn, Azerbaijan is ready to ensure all conditions for the transportation of Turkmen gas.

The minister stressed that the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline is an important project within the Southern Gas Corridor and the project was re-submitted to the agenda by the European Union.

According to head of the European Union Delegation to Azerbaijan Roland Kobia, the EU believes that it is in the interest of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan to be able to develop the Trans-Caspian Pipeline.

The U.S also has a positive attitude towards the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline project, U.S ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar believes.

EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger believes the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline project will play an important role in further development of the Southern Gas Corridor, referring to the planned series of links aiming to reduce European countries' dependence on Russian energy.

Earlier in February Russian Ambassador Vladimir Dorokhin said that Russia has no questions concerning Azerbaijan's position on the construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline.

"There are the positions of Russia and Iran who believe that Trans-Caspian pipelines can be built if the environmental expertise is agreed upon by all Caspian littoral countries. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan believe that the environmental expertise must be approved only by the parties involved in a particular project. We believe that it would not be appropriate to launch any specific projects until the Caspian littoral countries agree upon these issues themselves," he underscored.

Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Marika Valishvili believes that Georgia is interested in the implementation of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline project for the diversification of gas supply sources.

"We will be very glad if the gas from Central Asia will be supplied via the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline and then through Azerbaijan and Georgia," Valishvili said.

Vice President of Azerbaijani state energy company SOCAR Elshad Nasirov said that Azerbaijan will only benefit from transportation of gas through the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline.

"Implementation of this project will make Azerbaijan not only a supplier of gas, but also a transit country. This is a very ambitious project for the EU," Nasirov said.

According to Nasirov, implementation of the Trans Caspian pipeline project will be possible as soon as Turkmenistan and partners from the EU agree on gas sales.