European Commission, Turkmenistan mull energy co-op

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Nov. 11 By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend: Turkmen and the European Commission officials during a meeting in Brussels stressed the importance of the work under the Ashgabat Declaration meant for development of energy cooperation between Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and the EU. “The meeting participants stressed the progress on the main projects of cooperation with the EU, including sustainable energy,” the Turkmen Oil and Gas Complex said November 11 citing a message from the European Commission. The sides also pointed to the progress achieved by the EU and Turkmenistan in trade and economic development. The Ashgabat Declaration was signed in May 2015 by Director of the Turkmen State Agency for Management and Use of Hydrocarbon Resources Yagshygeldi Kakayev, Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Natig Aliyev, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Turkey Taner Yildiz and the European Commission Vice-President for the Energy Union Maros Sefcovic. Kakayev, Aliyev, Yildiz and Sefcovic agreed on the need to establish the Caspian Development Corporation for development of the Turkmen gas export to Europe. The EU, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan are regularly discussing an opportunity of supplying the Turkmen gas to Europe. In particular, the issue rests in implementing a project for laying the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline to the coast of Azerbaijan to deliver the Turkmen gas from there to Turkey, Bulgaria and other European countries. The Trans-Caspian pipeline could be part of several large-scale projects, including AGRI and TANAP. Ashgabat believes that the consent of the sides of the project, that is, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, is sufficient for laying the pipe through the bottom of the Caspian Sea, the legal status of which has not been defined. Azerbaijan has expressed its readiness to provide its territory, transit opportunities and infrastructure for the project’s implementation. Turkmenistan ranks fourth in the world for the volume of natural gas reserve after Russia, Iran and Qatar, according to a BP report.