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Europe pins high hopes on gas supply from Central Asia

Oil&Gas Materials 3 February 2015 15:27 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.3

By Emil Ismayilov - Trend:

Europe pins high hopes on the gas supply from Turkmenistan, a source at the oil and gas market told Trend on Feb.3.

The project for construction of a 300-kilometer long gas pipeline through the Caspian Sea to the Azerbaijani coast is regarded as the best option for supplying Turkmenistan's energy resources to the European market.

Further, Turkmen hydrocarbons can be delivered to Turkey which borders the European countries.

The source said that Europe's hopes are that Turkmen gas will be delivered to the European market in the near future.

Now it is time when Turkmenistan is able to occupy a certain niche in gas supply to Europe which needs to replenish its gas reserve, according to the source.

The Trans-Caspian project can be implemented within the Southern Gas Corridor lobbied by the EU. The work on the expansion of the South Caucasus corridor, construction of Trans-Anatolian and Trans-Adriatic gas pipelines will be carried out as part of the Southern Gas Corridor project.

There are no direct agreements on the implementation of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project. Ashgabat believes that the consent of the countries the territories of which are covered by the project (Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan) is sufficient for laying the pipe through the Caspian Sea, the legal status of which hasn't been determined yet.

Azerbaijan is ready to offer its territory, transit opportunities and infrastructure for the implementation of this project.

Turkmenistan has expressed readiness to supply up to 40 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe per year. Some 10 billion cubic meters of this volume can be provided by the Petronas company which operates in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, while the remaining volume can be provided with the East-West pipeline that is under construction in the country. The 800-kilometers-long gas pipeline runs from the Galkynysh field to the Caspian Sea coast.

A framework agreement on cooperation in delivering Turkmen natural gas to Turkey and further to Europe was signed between the governments of Turkmenistan and Turkey following the high-level talks in Ashgabat in July 2013.

Edited by SI

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