Azerbaijan ready to transit gas from Caspian Sea's east coast
By Nazrin Gadimova
The Azerbaijani side is always ready to provide transit opportunities in case of implementation of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, SOCAR head Rovnag Abdullayev told journalists on April 23.
Abdullayev said currently the Trans-Caspian pipeline project is the focus of the talks between Turkmenistan and the EU.
Being a transit country, Azerbaijan has repeatedly declared its readiness to provide transit opportunities when there is an agreement between two sides [the EU and Turkmenistan].
The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline with a length of 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.
Both Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, two Caspian littoral countries, are interested in the use of alternative routes for the transportation of energy resources from the resource-rich Caspian region to European markets.
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.
Ashgabat believes that the agreement between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, the territories of which are covered by the project, is sufficient for laying a pipe under the Caspian Sea.
Baku has expressed readiness to provide its territory, transit opportunities, and infrastructure for its implementation, as reported by representatives of Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR.
Azerbaijan will benefit from transportation of gas through the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline as the implementation of this project will make Azerbaijan not only a supplier of gas, but also a transit country.