EU: Azerbaijan will be key contributor to Southern Gas Corridor

EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger believes Azerbaijan will be the key contributor to the Southern Gas Corridor project.
European Union Ambassador to Azerbaijan Roland Kobia read out Oettinger’s message to the third Conference of Gas Infrastructure World Caspian in Baku on Wednesday.
"Azerbaijan will be a gas producer, as well as a transit country. Theretofore, we consider the country as the key contributor to the Southern Corridor project," the message reads.
Europe’s cooperation with the Caspian region, especially with Azerbaijan, is deepening. The recent visits of Commissioner Oettinger and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso to Baku are evidence to this.
"Europe needs more natural gas from more sources and the Caspian region can help us to solve this challenge," Oettinger said in his message. "The main challenge before Europe is that the region is not connected with the important suppliers in the light of growing import market."
Regarding Turkmenistan, Oettinger said the country has large gas reserves, but it lacks economic route to export these reserves. Oettinger believes that the situation may change.
"Europe attaches a great importance to the Trans Caspian pipeline, which will allow to deliver the Turkmen gas to the European markets," the message reads. "Europe is committed to work with all partners in the Caspian region with a view to realize the Southern Gas Corridor ."
The Southern Corridor is a priority EU energy project. It will diversify energy supply routes and resources, and increase EU energy security. The Southern Corridor includes the Nabucco gas pipeline, Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), White Stream, and ITGI (Turkey-Greece-Italy pipeline).