Kazakhstan, Astana, August 20 / Trend , K.Konirova /
Trend special correspondent's interview with H.E. Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Turkey to Kazakhstan Atilla Gunay.
Trend : Do you think the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline will run more effectively, when the oil shipments will be launched through the Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System (KCTS)?
Atilla Gunay: From the global energy security perspective, the BTC pipeline project is of great importance. The pipeline ensures the safe transportation of Azeri oil through an alternative route that bypasses the Turkish Straits. About 700 million barrels of oil have been transported through the BTC pipeline since its inauguration. Now BTC, with a capacity of one million barrels of oil per day, is able to meet 1.5 percent of world energy demand.
We welcome Kazakhstan's participation in the BTC pipeline. Kazakhstan started to ship its oil through the BTC last NovemberAlthough it's not a significant amount at the moment, it is expected to increase once there's progress on the KCTS.
Q: What prospects does Turkey see for new projects in the Caspian?
A.G.: Our country is a bridge between oil and gas producing countries in the Caspian region and Middle East and Europe. Turkey, a country where energy needs are rapidly growing, has also become an important market. The main goal of our energy strategy is to enhance Turkey's role as an energy hub in its region and as a transit country on the axis of the East-West and North-South.
Our country has participated in several international projects in the field of oil and gas. The BTC pipeline was one of the most important accomplished projects that Turkey has participated in the oil sector. With regards to the North-South axis, the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline is a project to which that we attach importance. During Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit in August, Russia announced to support this project. Turkey also wishes to see Kazakhstan's involvement in this project.
In addition to the BTC pipeline and Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline, Iraqi oil is also shipped through a pipeline which ends in Ceyhan Terminal. The Ceyhan Terminal has an established technological infrastructure which would enable the exportation of the Caspian and Iraqi oil to world markets. Over the next period, Turkey also plans to build a refinery here. During the visit of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to our country, an agreement was also reached to launch a joint project for the construction of an oil refinery in Ceyhan.
In the field of natural gas, Turkey assumes a strategic role in new projects in the Caspian region. As you know, the Nabucco gas pipeline project has been on the world agenda for the last couple of months. The accomplishment of the Nabucco project is a strategic priority for Turkey. The project aims at shipping the gas of the Caspian region and the Middle East through Turkey to the European markets. The Nabucco Intergovernmental Agreement which was signed in July, constitutes an important milestone in this process. Our country will continue to give its full support to this project in the coming years.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline which became operational in 2007 ships Azeri gas to Turkey and we consider this pipeline as an important component of the East-West corridor. Azeri gas is also shipped to Greece through the Turkish-Greek gas interconnector and there are plans to extend this pipeline to Italy and to ship 3 billion cubic meters of gas to Greece and 8 billion cubic meters to Italy.
All the above-mentioned projects on the transportation of Caspian hydrocarbon resources to world markets through alternative and reliable routes are of great significance both for supplier and consumer countries. I believe that these pipelines will create new areas of cooperation between Turkey and the Caspian region. I hope that Kazakhstan, along with the BTC project, will also consider and support other projects in the near future.
Q: How does Turkey assess the prospects of materializing the trans-Caspian oil and gas transportation projects?
A: Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan do not have direct access to the high seas. Therefore, they do not have many options when the current infrastructure is taken into account. In this regard, the Trans-Caspian projects present an important alternative in terms of diversification of export routes.
The Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System envisages the delivery of Kazakh oil by tankers via the Caspian Sea. The completion of this project will be an important achievement not only for Kazakhstan, but also for Azerbaijan and Turkey.
As for the gas shipments through the Caspian Sea, this is a different issue. In 1998 Turkey and Turkmenistan signed an agreement to build a trans-Caspian gas pipeline to export Turkmen gas to Turkey and to Europe. But there has been no progress on this issue since that date.
Turkmenistan pursues a policy of selling its natural gas on the border. Kazakhstan also raises the question of differences on the status of the Caspian Sea among the littoral states.
If this project would materialize, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan would have an opportunity to export their natural gas through the trans-Caspian pipeline and the Nabucco pipeline and they would gain access to Turkish and European markets. This would be beneficial for both the supplier countries and Turkish and European consumers.
Overall, I believe that these projects offer an important opportunity to suppliers to export their gas through alternative and reliable routes to European markets. Kazakhstan's support to these projects would make a significant contribution to regional cooperation over the next years.