Azerbaijan, Baku, 25 February / Trend / Searches have shown that the construction of the Trans-Caspian oil and gas pipelines is attractive from the economic point of view, the US Department of State's Coordinator for Eurasian Energy Diplomacy, Steven Mann, exclusively told Trend in Baku on 25 February.
Mann who is on a one-day visit to Azerbaijan stated, "The basic question here is whether the economics of such projects are commercially desirable. The analyses that I have seen say "yes". According to him, it has been the long-standing position of the United States for more than 10 years to support the Trans-Caspian oil and gas pipelines.
"This is my first visit to Azerbaijan in my new capacity as Europe and Eurasia energy coordinator. I am here to touch base in advance prior to my upcoming trips to Turkey and Turkmenistan," he said.
On 25 February Mann was received by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. "I had a warm discussion with the President. He expressed his desire for productive relations with Turkmenistan," Mann said.
An underwater pipeline is to be constructed to export Kazakh oil to the world markets via Azerbaijan. Such pipeline will be constructed when the export of the Kazakh oil via Azerbaijan reaches 20mln tons per year.
In addition, an underwater gas pipeline totaling $12bln is envisaged to be constructed in the Caspian. Its carrying capacity may make up nearly 22bln cu.m of gas per year. The experts say that the technical conditions of constructing this pipeline are more beneficial than the construction of Blue Stream (Russia-Turkey gas pipeline via Black Sea). It is explained with less depth in the Caspian and more favorable environment compared to the Black Sea.
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) stated on 25 February that as a result of his visit to Turkey and Turkmenistan, Mann will visit Baku again. The US Coordinator said at the meeting with the SOCAR President, Rovnak Abdullayev.
According to the SOCAR President, currently Azerbaijan is considering various routes of gas transportation to Europe, including Nabucco and Turkey-Greece-Italy. It was stated during the meeting that the Nabucco project is assessed as part of the US energy policy.