The European commission is interested in the negotiations with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan regarding the joint activities on the Trans-Caspian project, the head of the EU delegation to Azerbaijan Malena Mard told reporters Oct.22.
She said that the EU attaches great importance to the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project.
There is a tripartite format of the meeting on the Trans-Caspian project between the EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, Mard said. She noted that she can’t tell the exact date of the meeting yet.
The project of laying the 300-kilometer gas pipeline across the bottom of the Caspian Sea to the shores of Azerbaijan is considered optimal for the delivery of Turkmen energy resources to the European market. Then Turkmen hydrocarbons can get to Turkey, which shares a border with the European countries.
Officials in Ashgabat feel that consent between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan is enough for laying pipes under the Caspian Sea, whose legal status is still undetermined. Azerbaijan has expressed readiness to provide its territory, transit opportunities and infrastructure for realization of the project, as previously stated by representatives of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan.
Turkmenistan is ranked fourth in the world on natural gas reserves, and currently exports this kind of fuel to markets in China, CIS and Iran. The options of laying pipelines from Turkmenistan to markets of South Asia and Europe are being examined.
/trend/
