European states keen on boosting Azeri gas imports amid Russia-Ukraine row
European countries that seek to ease reliance on
Russian gas supplies now view increasing imports from Azerbaijan as
an alternative to Russian gas. Greece and Turkey have already
appealed to the country`s government to raise imports from
Azerbaijan.
Christos Folias, Greek Minister of Development, has said his country could alleviate concerns caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine dispute over gas supplies, which has already caused shortages in numerous EU states. He said Greece would make-up the gas short fall with the aid of Azerbaijan. Athens has forwarded a proposal to Baku to increase gas shipments to Europe. A similar proposal has been sent from Ankara.
Natig Aliyev, Azerbaijani Minister of Energy and Industry, has said the government was considering these proposals and work was underway to reach agreement. According to Aliyev, Azerbaijan is supplying gas to Turkey and Georgia as part of Phase One of the project on developing its Shahdaniz Caspian field. During the second stage of the project, 14 billion cubic meters of gas will be produced annually, of which 11 bn cu. m. are earmarked for exports. The volume will fully meet the demand of both Greece and Turkey.
"Greece will be able to initially receive 1bn cu. m. of gas a year from Azerbaijan, with the figure to reach 3bn cu. m. during Phase 2 of the Shahdaniz development," Aliyev said.
Turkey began to buy gas from Azerbaijan through the major Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum conduit in 2006.
The Italian government also launched talks with Azerbaijan in an effort to reduce its dependency on Russian gas. The country`s Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has said his country would do everything in its power to see that the NABUCCO pipeline project is completed. Berlusconi said Rome has begun talks with Azerbaijan and other partners to speed up the NABUCCO project, which seeks to export Azerbaijani and Turkmen gas to European markets through a 3,300-kilometer pipeline bypassing Russia.
He added that it was also possible to build another new pipeline in the future to transport gas to Italy via Greece and Turkey.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski has said the NABUCCO project should be implemented as soon as possible to rid Europe of dependency on imported gas. Kaczynski went on to say that cooperation should be stepped up with non-EU member states to assure the success of the NABUCCO project. He noted that Poland was not Russia`s enemy, but considers diversifying its sources of energy as pivotal.
Meanwhile, Russia vowed not to impose obstacles to prevent completion of the NABUCCO project. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Moscow was actually in favor of using alternate routes for the transportation of energy resources.
"We are not participating in the NABUCCO project, but we are not going to hamper its realization either. If there are gas reserves available and agreements in place, let them implement it."
Plans call for the NABUCCO pipeline to travel through Azerbaijan and Turkey to Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria. So far, only Azerbaijan has agreed to transport its gas via NABUCCO. Deliveries from Kazakhstan, Iran and Iraq are possible in the future as well. When the project is finished, most of the gas, to be delivered to Austria`s Baumgarten location, will be delivered to central and western Europe through the country`s territory. Although construction of the pipeline was initially scheduled for 2009, the global financial downturn has delayed the plan. The conduit is to be commissioned in 2013.
However, Azerbaijani analyst Natig Jafarli believes creation of the NABUCCO project does not appear realistic at this point.
Jafarli argued that Azerbaijan`s gas was not enough to justify the project being built and Europeans will need to find other sources.
"Although discussions on NABUCCO have widened due to the Russia-Ukraine gas war, the project will remain on paper until sources of gas are found," Jafarli said.
According to Jafarli, under present conditions the pipeline will only be built if Western powers concede to Iran. "At that point, Azerbaijan will have to put forth its clear-cut position and state whether it plans to rely on the West or Russia," Jafarli said.
Christos Folias, Greek Minister of Development, has said his country could alleviate concerns caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine dispute over gas supplies, which has already caused shortages in numerous EU states. He said Greece would make-up the gas short fall with the aid of Azerbaijan. Athens has forwarded a proposal to Baku to increase gas shipments to Europe. A similar proposal has been sent from Ankara.
Natig Aliyev, Azerbaijani Minister of Energy and Industry, has said the government was considering these proposals and work was underway to reach agreement. According to Aliyev, Azerbaijan is supplying gas to Turkey and Georgia as part of Phase One of the project on developing its Shahdaniz Caspian field. During the second stage of the project, 14 billion cubic meters of gas will be produced annually, of which 11 bn cu. m. are earmarked for exports. The volume will fully meet the demand of both Greece and Turkey.
"Greece will be able to initially receive 1bn cu. m. of gas a year from Azerbaijan, with the figure to reach 3bn cu. m. during Phase 2 of the Shahdaniz development," Aliyev said.
Turkey began to buy gas from Azerbaijan through the major Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum conduit in 2006.
The Italian government also launched talks with Azerbaijan in an effort to reduce its dependency on Russian gas. The country`s Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has said his country would do everything in its power to see that the NABUCCO pipeline project is completed. Berlusconi said Rome has begun talks with Azerbaijan and other partners to speed up the NABUCCO project, which seeks to export Azerbaijani and Turkmen gas to European markets through a 3,300-kilometer pipeline bypassing Russia.
He added that it was also possible to build another new pipeline in the future to transport gas to Italy via Greece and Turkey.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski has said the NABUCCO project should be implemented as soon as possible to rid Europe of dependency on imported gas. Kaczynski went on to say that cooperation should be stepped up with non-EU member states to assure the success of the NABUCCO project. He noted that Poland was not Russia`s enemy, but considers diversifying its sources of energy as pivotal.
Meanwhile, Russia vowed not to impose obstacles to prevent completion of the NABUCCO project. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Moscow was actually in favor of using alternate routes for the transportation of energy resources.
"We are not participating in the NABUCCO project, but we are not going to hamper its realization either. If there are gas reserves available and agreements in place, let them implement it."
Plans call for the NABUCCO pipeline to travel through Azerbaijan and Turkey to Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria. So far, only Azerbaijan has agreed to transport its gas via NABUCCO. Deliveries from Kazakhstan, Iran and Iraq are possible in the future as well. When the project is finished, most of the gas, to be delivered to Austria`s Baumgarten location, will be delivered to central and western Europe through the country`s territory. Although construction of the pipeline was initially scheduled for 2009, the global financial downturn has delayed the plan. The conduit is to be commissioned in 2013.
However, Azerbaijani analyst Natig Jafarli believes creation of the NABUCCO project does not appear realistic at this point.
Jafarli argued that Azerbaijan`s gas was not enough to justify the project being built and Europeans will need to find other sources.
"Although discussions on NABUCCO have widened due to the Russia-Ukraine gas war, the project will remain on paper until sources of gas are found," Jafarli said.
According to Jafarli, under present conditions the pipeline will only be built if Western powers concede to Iran. "At that point, Azerbaijan will have to put forth its clear-cut position and state whether it plans to rely on the West or Russia," Jafarli said.
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