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Azerbaijan Likely to Open a Corridor for Turkmen Gas Delivery to Europe

Oil&Gas Materials 25 November 2008 03:00 (UTC +04:00)
Azerbaijan Likely to Open a Corridor for Turkmen Gas Delivery to Europe

Austria, Vienna, November 25 / corr Trend R.Alasgarov / Azerbaijan is prepared to offer a corridor to carry Turkemenistan's gas to Europe. Natig Aliyev, Minister of Industry and Enrgetics, currently visiting Vienna, said.

"We have built a powerful transit corridor and are in condition to present this corridor to Turkmenistan for exploitation," Aliyev told Trend correspondent in Vienna.

The minister said that Azerbaijan is beyond of efforts intended to ensure Turmen gas flow to Europe via its territory.

"Azerbaijan is prepared to assist should Turkmenistan has a such policy and takes a relevant decision. However, Azerbaijan itself is beyond of effort in this respect," Aliyev, who is attending the first ministerial gas forum in Vienna, said.

According to the minister, participants of the consortium established to implement the Nabukko pipeline construction, pins great hopes on the Azerbaijani gas extracted from the Shah Deniz offshore field. 

"In the first stage of the [Nabucco] project, the Azerbaijani gas will become a significant source so that other sources could join [gas transportation through Nabucco," the minister said.

Aliyev said that it is not worth to wait until full coverage of demand for gas in Europe though the Azerbaijani fuel. Furthermore, there is no intention to cover the entire capacity of Nabucco with Azerbaijani gas.

"We ever offer Europe not to regard Azerbaijan as an only gas source and seek other sources," the minister said.

Azerbaijan's major task is to cover the domestic demand for gas, implement international commitments and export Azerbaijani gas to world markets.

Nabucco pipeline with then budget of $12.4bln, is intended to deliver gas from Azerbaijan and Central Asia to the European Union (EU) countries beginning from 2013. The project will be sanctioned in 2010. The participants in the project are OMV, MOL of Hungary, Bulgargas of Bulgaria, Transgas of Romania, Botas of Turkey and RWE companies of Germany. The maximal capacity of the pipeline is 31bln cu m of gas a year.

The correspondent can be contacted at c

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