Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 2
By Emil Ismayilov - Trend:
Currently, the topic of gas supply to Europe is the craze. Everyone wants to be involved in this process in same way by making unreasonable proposals. Iran has not been waiting long. It can transport gas from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to Europe through Turkey, the Director for International Relations of the National Iranian Gas Company Azizollah Ramazani said.
While observing this aside, there is the impression that everybody has waited for just this moment to join the new gas race. However, unfortunately for most of those concerned, the route for the "gas" rally from the Caspian region to Europe is available and it stretches through Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey energy corridor, founded in the 1990s of the last century, proved its reliability and efficiency long ago. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline were built as part of this corridor. At present, oil not only from Azerbaijan, but also from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan is transported via the BTC and supplied to the world market.
Azerbaijani gas is successfully transported to Georgia and Turkey via the South Caucasus gas pipeline.
The Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey route forms the basis of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is designed to ensure the transportation of gas from alternative sources to the European market and thereby strengthen Europe's energy security.
The South Caucasus gas pipeline, as well as the Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) gas pipelines, are the constituent elements of the Southern Gas Corridor. The work on the creation of TANAP and TAP is underway.
How one can talk about supplying Caspian Sea gas to Europe through Iran while there are these facts and clearly defined plans?
Meanwhile, the European Union itself will remain reluctant for the Iranian side to participate in this process until the sides fully eliminate all the contradictions between them. Moreover, Turkey and Iran haven't come to an agreement on the price of the gas supplied by Iran within a contract.
Regarding the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, the construction of which Ramazani considers to be costly and unpractical, it is an indisputable fact that the project has become even more relevant. Practical steps should be expected on this issue in the near future.
Edited by CN
Emil Ismayilov is Trend Agency's staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @Emilsmail
