EU holds urgent talks on Trans-Caspian pipeline
By Hasan Hasanov
Ashgabat holds multilateral meetings at the government level
with the participation of high-ranking delegation of the European
Commission, where the possibility of Turkmen gas supplies to Europe
was discussed, a source close to the negotiations told Trend April
30.
While anticipating the resources of the Caspian region, especially
from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, the EU has actively promoted the
Southern Gas Corridor project. A project for the Trans-Caspian gas
pipeline construction can be a part of it.
Laying the pipe through the Caspian Sea from the city of Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan to the city of Sangachal on the coast of the Absheron Peninsula in Azerbaijan is expected to be one of the variants of this route.
Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natig Aliyev said April 29 at the 3rd Baku Global Shared Societies Forum that negotiations to transport gas from Central Asia to Europe have been held for several years. Turkmenistan, along with Russia and Qatar also has huge gas resources, he said.
Turkmenistan, ranking fourth in the world’s largest natural gas reserves, is one of the key players on the energy market in the Caspian region and Central Asia. It is interested in searching for new markets, particularly in Europe.
In this aspect, the pipeline route to Europe via the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan is considered one of the most attractive ones.
In its turn, Brussels has recently announced that it is time for the European companies, directly interested in Turkmen gas import, to join the negotiation process. The Caspian Development Corporation, which is being established, can serve this goal.
The RSK Environment Ltd. carried out the preliminary environmental studies on the World Bank’s order.
The examination confirmed that from the environmental point of
view, the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline is a safe route, and today,
Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan have every opportunity to implement the
project for its construction as part of bilateral activities.
The deposits of the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea may be the
resource base for the gas supply via the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline
at the initial stage. The presence of the already explored and
proven natural gas reserves in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian
Sea makes it possible to supply 16 billion cubic meters of gas per
year in Europe.
In the future, there will be an opportunity to use the resources of gas fields in eastern Turkmenistan to supply gas through the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline. This will be possible after the commissioning of the East-West gas pipeline with a pumping capacity of 30 billion cubic meters per year. Its construction will be completed this year.
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