EU says conditions in favor of Trans-Caspian pipeline
By Aynur Jafarova
Favorable conditions have been created for concluding an agreement on the construction of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan.
The news was announced by Denis Daniilidis, the European Union's (EU) Charge d'Affaires ad interim in Turkmenistan on November 20.
"The Trans-Caspian pipeline is important, and the European Union (EU) believes that the most favorable conditions exist now for reaching agreements and beginning the construction," he said at the Oil and Gas Conference, held in Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat on November 19-21.
"During the negotiations we need to resolve a few remaining issues, and the first pipeline may be built before the completion of the Southern Gas Corridor," he said.
According to Daniilidis, the EU and Turkmenistan are in the final stage of negotiations.
The EU representative also noted that the Southern Gas Corridor, which includes the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline project, remains a priority for the EU, and this was confirmed by the EU summit held in May 2013, during which key infrastructure energy projects for 2014-2020 were approved.
Both Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, two Caspian littoral countries, are interested in the use of alternative routes for the transportation of energy resources from the resource-rich Caspian region to European markets.
The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline running around 300 kilometers will be laid from the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, where it will be linked to the Southern Gas Corridor. The pipeline's capacity is 30-40 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
Talks on the construction of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline between Turkmenistan, the EU, and other countries have been held since late 1990s. The negotiation process intensified after the EU issued a mandate to start negotiations on the preparation of an agreement between the EU, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan on the Trans-Caspian project in September 2011.
Ashgabat believes that the agreement between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, the territories of which are covered by the project, is sufficient for laying a pipe under the Caspian Sea. Baku has expressed readiness to provide its territory, transit opportunities, and infrastructure for its implementation, as reported by representatives of Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR.
Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natig Aliyev said earlier that drafting two documents under the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project is drawing to a close and they must be signed by Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan's Presidents, head of the European Commission, and the governments of the two littoral countries.
The first document will feature the support given to the project by the three sides, while the second one will be signed between the Azerbaijani and Turkmen governments.
The minister noted that Turkmenistan has expressed its support for the implementation of the project, meaning that the Turkmen side is ready to deliver around 30 billion cubic meters of gas for the project. In turn, Azerbaijan is ready to ensure all suitable conditions for the transportation of Turkmen gas.
Azerbaijan will only also benefit from transportation of gas through the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline as the implementation of this project will make Azerbaijan not only a supplier of gas, but also a transit country.
However there are no direct arrangements yet for the implementation of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project aimed at supplying gas to the European market.