Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani government is ready "to do everything it can" for the trans-Caspian gas pipeline project to be implemented if Turkmenistan decides to supply its gas to European markets and the construction of the pipeline is required for the purpose, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natig Aliyev told the press Tuesday.

Aliyev said Turkmenistan is a key participant in the negotiations to build the trans-Caspian gas pipeline. According to him, besides the political declaration, the main document being planned is an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the pipeline, which will link Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

"When such agreements are prepared, principles must be observed," he said." The main principles are the guarantees and obligations of the parties. In this case, I will speak for Azerbaijan. We are ready to provide the entire infrastructure, licenses and permits."

Aliyev said Azerbaijan is ready to create a favorable system of Turkmen gas transportation through its territory. Turkmenistan is also ready to provide guarantees for extracting at least 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year to transport it through this gas corridor, he said.

The minister said one of the main issues for the trans-Caspian project is EU guarantees for the purchase of gas, delivery and support for funding. Azerbaijan is ready to provide the necessary production assets, namely, pipe laying vessels, construction and supporting vessels for offshore platforms and infrastructure construction, he said.

The 300-kilometer trans-Caspian pipeline is to be laid from the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan where it will be linked to the Southern Gas Corridor, a project aiming to diversify energy supply routes and sources and increase European energy security.

In September 2011 the European Union authorized the European Commission to start talks to reach an agreement with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on building the conduit. Russia, one of the Caspian Sea littoral states, followed up by saying that implementation of the project is impossible until the legal status of the basin is resolved among all the coastal nations, which also include Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran. However, the European Commission went ahead and started negotiations with the two resource-rich countries.

At present, the consortium developing Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas condensate field considers several options to export gas to Europe within the Southern Gas Corridor project. Earlier the consortium excluded Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI) from the list of projects being considered for gas exports, and made Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) a priority route for Azerbaijani gas export to Italy.

Now the consortium is selecting the pipeline route to the South-Eastern and Central Europe between Nabucco West and South-East Europe Pipeline (SEEP).

The final decision on a pipeline route to export Azerbaijani gas to European markets is expected in 2013.