Trans-Caspian pipeline is being brought into reality
December 24, 2017 | 16:50 |334
This week, several high-ranking representatives of the European Union said that the Trans-Caspian pipeline is one of the key elements of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project, which could later connect the Central Asian countries with Europe. The vice-president of the European Commission of the Energy Union MarošŠefčovič and his deputy Bernd Birvert said in various interviews. One of the central themes of the recent 28th session of the Energy Charter Conference in Ashgabat was the Strengthening Global Energy Security, and representatives of the European Union have repeatedly voiced concerns about the accelerating monopolization of the hydrocarbon market. At the end of November, the European Commission introduced the Trans-Caspian pipeline into the official list of priority energy infrastructure projects for the European Union. Then the news that the Caspian states finally agreed on key issues of the legal status of the Caspian Sea came and the relevant Convention will be signed in the spring 2018. According to the official of the State Enterprise for Caspian Sea Issues under the President of Turkmenistan Ch. Sahedova, the provisions contained in the draft of the above-mentioned document create a legal basis for further development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the Caspian states in various fields, including energy, transport, trade, and other spheres. All the above events that occurred in less than a month make clear - Trans-Caspian pipeline is ceasing to be a theoretical concept and is being put into practice. Representatives of the EU, Turkey and Azerbaijan have repeatedly stated that it is the deposits of Turkmen natural gas can make a significant contribution to the diversification of supplies of “blue” fuel to European countries, for which in May 2015, a declaration on the development of cooperation in the energy sector was signed jointly with Turkmenistan. According to Bernd Birvert, the parties remain committed to the implementation of agreements on the document and study further opportunities for cooperation.Eziz OVEZOV
