Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
Turkey is ready to transport Turkmen gas to European markets, Turkish media outlets quoted the country’s Ambassador to Turkmenistan Mustafa Kapucu as saying June 3.
Sending the Turkmen gas to the European energy markets will contribute to the diversification of sources, according to the envoy.
The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline Project involving laying of a 300-km gas pipeline along the bottom of the Caspian Sea to the coast of Azerbaijan, is optimal for the delivery of Turkmen energy resources to the European market. Further, Turkmen gas can be pumped to Turkey through existing pipelines, which has mutual borders with European countries.
The project may be implemented as a part of huge Southern Gas Corridor project designed to transport gas from the Caspian region to European countries. The negotiations on the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline among the EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan began in September 2011.
Kapucu further noted that Turkey also supports construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline.
“The TAPI gas pipeline is an important project for the region and it will open new markets for the Turkmen gas,” he added.
The total length of the TAPI pipeline will be 1,814 kilometers. A 214-kilometer section of the pipeline will run through Turkmenistan, a 774-kilometer section will run through Afghanistan and an 826-kilometer section will run through Pakistan.
Construction of the Turkmen section of TAPI started in 2015 and is scheduled to finish in late 2018.
The pipeline’s annual capacity will be 33 billion cubic meters of gas.