Azernews.Az

Shareholders of the planned Nabucco pipeline, which seeks to deliver gas from the Caspian and Central Asia regions to European markets, have welcomed the agreement defining terms for the transit of gas to Turkey and Europe that was signed in Ankara Monday by the Turkish and Azerbaijani governments.
"This is a step ahead in the right direction," said Reinhard Mitschek, Managing Director of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International.
Nabucco is the flagship project in the Southern Corridor to transport gas from the Caspian region and Middle East to the Turkish and European markets. Construction is expected to begin in 2011. The 3,300-kilometer Nabucco pipeline between Turkey and Austria is due to be completed by 2014.
The Caspian region is one of the world's richest gas regions and has large capacities for gas export to Europe.
Surveys, such as Eurogas, clearly indicate that demand will keep rising and therefore there is a clear need for considerably more gas imports into Turkey and Europe. Nabucco is a major integrated infrastructure project, with 4,000 km of new pipeline outlets along the route which will create the backbone for new gas transit to Europe.
The agreement between Turkey and Azerbaijan paves the way for further development of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline project, according to TAP, which has congratulated the governments of Turkey and Azerbaijan on reaching "an important agreement on gas transportation".
"We understand that the agreement will regulate the sale of Azerbaijan gas to Turkey and its transportation to the European markets through the territory of Turkey. In particular, the agreement covers the price and quantity of gas to be exported from the Shahdaniz II project [the second phase of production at Azerbaijan's vast Shahdaniz field], which is a potential source of gas for the pipeline projects such as the Trans Adriatic Pipeline in the Southern Gas Corridor, linking Caspian gas resources to the European markets."
"TAP welcomes this long-awaited agreement, which is a significant achievement for both countries. TAP further looks forward to making continued progress in order to be ready for the start of gas production of Shahdaniz II," said Michael Hoffmann, External Affairs and Communications Director at TAP.
Trans Adriatic Pipeline is an attractive gas transportation project for Azerbaijan as it offers the shortest and least expensive route for Caspian gas to reach European markets via Turkey. Presently, TAP is at the front end engineering stage (FEED).