Environmental impacts of Trans-Caspian pipeline top priority for Azerbaijan
By Aynur Karimova
Azerbaijan will evaluate all possible environmental risks while laying the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, Mirsalam Gambarov told Trend on August 19.
"Any project involving Azerbaijan is implemented in accordance with the environmental protection requirements of international organizations,” the department head of Azerbaijan's Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry said. “Each project, including the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, passes state examination."
The official also noted that Azerbaijan has prevented all factors negatively affecting the environment when implementing other projects.
The 300-kilometer Trans-Caspian Pipeline is widely regarded as the optimal option to deliver 30 billion cubic meters of Turkmen blue fuel under the Caspian through Azerbaijan to European consumers.
The construction of the pipeline will greatly contribute to the diversification of Turkmen natural gas supply routes, as well as create an additional guarantee for the reliable and stable export of Turkmen energy resources to international markets.
Azerbaijan is also interested in the construction of the Trans-Caspian pipeline, as it can provide huge benefits from the transit of the Turkmen gas via its territory.
The project is of strategic interest to Europe at a time when the EU is trying to decrease its dependence on Russian gas.
However, the uncertain legal status of the Caspian Sea, as well as Russia's and Iran's concerns about the potential environmental consequences of building a pipeline along the bottom of the sea are the main obstacles for the realization of the project.
Azerbaijani ecologists believe that the construction of the Trans-Caspian pipeline would be absolutely safe should all of the necessary technical requirements be fulfilled.
Telman Zeynalov, the head of the Azerbaijani National Ecological Forecasting Center said earlier that if all of the procedures prescribed in the relevant documents are observed during pipeline construction, then danger is “out of the question."
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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