Baku, Azerbaijan, April 2
By Emin Aliyev - Trend:
The European Union (EU) is interested in continuing the negotiations on the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, the head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Malena Mard told journalists on April 2.
"The negotiations between Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and the European Commission, as well as their continuation are extremely important issues. The EU intends to continue the active work on this project especially taking into account the expected successful implementation of the Shah Deniz-2 project," Mard said.
The EU is interested in diversification of energy resources supply, according to the head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan.
"We don't want to depend on a single source, as it happens now. EU member-states also conduct individual work on resolving this task," Mard said.
The Southern Gas Corridor, which includes the Trans-Caspian project, remains a priority for Brussels. This was confirmed at the EU summit held in May 2013, during which key infrastructure energy projects for 2014-2020 were approved.
The project envisaging the laying of around 300 kilometers long gas pipeline under the Caspian to the shores of Azerbaijan is regarded as the optimal option for delivering Turkmen resources to European markets. Further, the Turkmen fuel can be delivered to Turkey which borders with European countries.
Trans-Caspian may become a part of several major projects including AGRI and TANAP, in which Ankara and Baku are actively participating. Ashgabat believes that for laying pipes under the Caspian Sea, the legal status of which has not yet been determined, the consent of both Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan and those territories covered by the project, is sufficient. Azerbaijan expressed its readiness to offer its territory, transit opportunities and infrastructure for the implementation of the project.
The negotiations between the EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline began in September 2011.
A framework agreement on cooperation in deliveries of Turkmen natural gas to Turkey and further to Europe was signed between the governments of Turkmenistan and Turkey in June 2013 after the high-level talks in Ashgabat.
Turkmenistan ranks fourth in the world for natural gas reserves and is looking for new markets in Europe and South Asia. Currently, the country exports natural gas to Chinese, CIS and Iranian markets.
The Southern Gas Corridor is a project that will allow Europe to diversify its sources of hydrocarbon supply and strengthen energy security as well as creating a new market in Europe for Azerbaijan.
The final investment decision on the second phase of development of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field where gas in the volume of 10 billion cubic meters will go first to the European market was adopted in Baku on Dec.17, 2013.
The gas to be produced within the second phase of the field's development will be exported to Turkey at six billion cubic meters per year and to European markets at 10 billion cubic meters per year by means of expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and construction of the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP)
The contract for development of the Shah Deniz offshore field with proven reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters was signed on June 4, 1996.
The agreement's participants include such companies as the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) with a 16.7 percent share, BP (28.8 percent), Norway's Statoil (15.5 percent), Iran's NICO (10 percent), the French Total (10 percent), Russia's Lukoil (10 percent) and Turkish TPAO (nine percent).
Translated by L.Z.
Edited by C.N.