Azernews.Az

WASHINGTON D.C. – The United States is interested in implementing the Southern Corridor that aims to link the Caspian and Middle East regions to European markets, a US analyst said.

"The US attitude toward the Southern Corridor has always been stable," Edward Chow, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told reporters in Baku.

"The U.S. has always backed the Southern Corridor. As for differences in the positions of the new administration and the previous one, the only difference is that the new administration is not highlighting its importance. But the essence remains unchanged. The key goal is for energy resources to head from the East toward the West."

Touching on Azerbaijan’s role in the Southern Corridor, Chow said the country is important both as a major oil exporter and as a transit state for transporting Kazakhstan’s crude.

"It could also be crucial for long-term supplies of gas from Daghestan [a Russian republic], particularly after management of gas resources at the Shahdaniz field is properly planned. The commissioning of Baku-Supsa, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and other such pipelines is pivotal not only for Azerbaijan but for this region. Even if Azerbaijan’s oil resources dwindle in 20 to 30 years, this gap could be filled on account of oil available in the region."

The Southern Energy Corridor includes key pipelines that will deliver energy resources to Europe, including Nabucco, Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI) conduit.

Chow is an expert on the oil industry with 30-year experience. He has been instrumental for a project on building a $2.6 billion oil pipeline from Kazakhstan to the Russian Black Sea coasts through the Caspian Sea.