Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 12 / Trend, A. Akhundov /
Azerbaijan would benefit from the transportation of gas through the Trans-Caspian pipeline.
This was stated on Tuesday by the Vice President of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) on investments and marketing, Elshad Nasirov, at a meeting of the Committee on Energy Security of the Parliamentary Assembly (PA) "Euronest".According to him, the implementation of the Trans-Caspian project will be possible as soon as Turkmenistan and partners from the European Union (EU) agree on sales terms.
"Our Caspian fleet is capable of the construction of 100 kilometers of pipeline across the Caspian Sea in about a year," Nasirov said.
According to him, when all three segments, including the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline and gas transport route to Europe are ready and it is possible for all companies to negotiate with Turkmenistan, the project's parties will increase the capacity of all three sections within a year and a half.
"The Implementation of this project will render Azerbaijan a transit country; it will no longer be just a supplier. This is a very ambitious project on the part of the EU," Nasirov said.
According to him, Azerbaijan is obliged to transport East Caspian gas through its territory at average European rates, taking into account transportation and other aspects.
"There could be no discussions and questions concerning this issue," Nasirov said.
The Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, at a length of nearly 300 kilometers will be laid from the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea to the Azerbaijani coast.
Negotiations on the construction of the pipeline between Turkmenistan, the EU and other countries have been ongoing since the late 1990s.
The negotiation process was intensified after the European Union delivered a mandate to start negotiations on the preparation of an agreement between the EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on the Trans-Caspian project in September 2011.
However, Iran and Russia later expressed negative attitudes towards the project. Tehran and Moscow think that pipeline construction may damage the Caspian Sea's ecology.
Earlier, the Azerbaijani Minister of Industry and Energy Natig Aliyev said that two documents related to the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project are at their final stages and must be signed at the highest levels in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and the European Commission, as well as by the two littoral states.
The first document to be signed by the heads of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso indicates support for this corridor by the three parties.