While implementing big gas transportation projects, Azerbaijan takes into account the possibility of transportation of additional volume of gas from other Azeri fields and the third countries’ resources via these pipelines, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natig Aliyev told journalists yesterday while commenting on transportation of Turkmenistan gas to Europe.
He meant, in particular, transportation of gas via the South Caucasian gas pipeline and TANAP.
He said if Turkmenistan intends to export its gas to Europe, then Azerbaijan is ready to provide all required infrastructure for that.
“We have held many talks on the Turkmenistan gas deliveries to Europe, but no results have been achieved till now,” Minister said.
Aliyev added that at present Turkmenistan has been implementing several gas transportation projects, which are aimed at the east. Turkmenistan also stated that it is interested in supply of the west with gas, but it is going to sell its gas only on the border. “The issue of gas transportation via the Caspian Sea remains unsolved,” Minister said.
The issue of the Turkmenistan gas transportation through the Caspian Sea was urgent between 1996 and 1999. Later on the trans-Caspian gas pipeline project has been forgotten for a while, because of unsolved Caspian Sea legal status. The issue has become urgent again after reduction of gas trade between Turkmenistan and Russia by five times in 2009. However, Europe failed to take advantage of this chance, referring to the economic crisis. As a result China has allotted Turkmenistan $4 billion worth credit and obtained a permission of the Turkmenistan government to build the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline. Later on China has strengthened its control over the Turkmenistan gas. The Turkmenistan now promotes a new infrastructure project – the gas pipeline Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India – to receive new dividends from China.
During these years European Union has mentioned its support of the trans-Caspian gas pipeline at various levels. It seems that during the forthcoming elections to the European Parliament between May 22 and 25 the new European government will evaluate energy deliveries from the Caspian Sea region in a sensible light and in Brussels the politicians will not make statements such as “the Southern Gas Corridor will replace Russian gas at the European market in the near future” only for the sake of politics.
