Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan could become partners in the Southern Corridor energy projects, Azerbaijani Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Huseyngulu Baghirov said after attending a conference on trans-Caspian pipelines in Ashgabat on Monday.

"Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, whose sectors in the Caspian intersect, have worked shoulder to shoulder for many years," Baghirov said in an interview carried by Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper on Tuesday. "Extensive experience has been gained, and there are great potential and aspiration [of the two countries] to be part of the Southern Corridor. Therefore, our countries could become partners in the implementation of such projects."

The Southern Corridor is a priority EU energy project diversifying supply routes and sources and increasing EU energy security. The Southern Corridor includes the Nabucco gas pipeline, Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), White Stream, and Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI) pipeline. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are considered potential suppliers of energy for the pipelines.

Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have expressed interest in implementing the trans-Caspian project aiming to link the two littoral states by a sub-sea pipeline and could become part of the Nabucco conduit, which seeks to transport Caspian and Central Asian gas to European markets.

"Azerbaijan supports the prospect of developing sub-sea pipelines, because this option of transporting energy resources is currently environmentally safe, unlike ferries, barges and tankers," Baghirov said.

He also stressed that there are precedents of carrying out such projects in the whole world, including the Black Sea, Baltic Sea and other basins.