Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 17 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
Azerbaijan is ready to provide Turkmenistan a long-term fixed transit fare close to average European tariff rates to pump gas through its territory, a senior official of the Sate Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).
The East-West natural gas pipeline project in Turkmenistan is closely related to the Nabucco gas pipeline project, which aims to diversify European gas supply sources and routes, Turkmen President Gurbangulu Berdimuhammedov said on Sept.16. "We are currently constructing the East-West pipeline," he said.
"The position of our company, our state and the government has never changed. If it is necessary to Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan is ready to provide long-term fixed rates for the transit conditions that close to the European average transit fares," the source reported.
The construction of the East-West pipeline in Turkmenistan will clarify many questions about energy cooperation and expanding energy resource transportation, Azerbaijani Industry and Energy Minister Natig Aliyev told Trend today.
"I think many issues will likely be clarified when the construction ends because the Turkmen president said himself that the project will give us the chance to expand our activities," he said.
Reportedly, the Turkmengaz state concern launched the project to build the 1,000-kilometer East-West pipeline in the country. The pipeline's is estimated at 30 billion cubic meters of per year with an estimated cost of $2 billion.
The project aims to create a unified gas supply system in Turkmenistan and to diversify Turkmen natural gas supplies to international markets.
The Nabucco project is worth 7.9 billion euro. Construction is planned to start in 2011, with the first supplies beginning in 2015. Its maximum capacity will hit 31 billion cubic meters per year. Nabucco participants are the Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE. Each has an equal 16.67-percent share.
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