Turkmenistan Pledges Gas for Nabucco
Turkmenistan is ready to provide the EU with some 40 billion cubic meter of natural gas annually for the Nabucco gas pipeline project.
The pledge came from Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister Baymyrad Hojamuhamedov on Friday, who spoke at the Oil and Gas Turkmenistan-2010 forum.
Turkmenistan says it will have up to 40bn cubic metres (1,412bn cu ft) of spare gas annually, “so European countries need not worry,” said the Turkem official.
Hojamukhamedov pledged there would be an agreement on constructing a trans-Caspian pipeline along the bottom of the sea to transport Turkmen gas across the Caspian to Azerbaijan where it would be fed into pipelines linking up with the Nabucco pipeline.
In his words, a pipeline from gas fields in Eastern Turkmenistan to the Caspian Sea was already under construction.
This amount is larger than the projected capacity of 31 billion cubic meters of gas annually which Nabucco is supposed to transfer from the Middle East, the Caucasus, and the Caspian Region through Turkey into Bulgaria and the rest of the EU.
"It's very good news for us that others supported this initiative," he added. "It supports our president's policy of diversifying export markets for Turkmen natural gas and we are bringing these plans to life."
Hojamuhamedov said delivering gas to Europe was part of Turkmenistan’s plan to diversify its export markets. It already sells gas to Iran, China and Russia.
“Today, we are selling gas to Iran, China and Russia and talks on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline are moving at a fast pace. This initiative now opens up one more direction - across the Caspian Sea - and the opportunity to sell our hydrocarbons on the European market," explained Khojamukhamedov.
Turkmenistan, which sits on the world’s fourth largest gas supplies, wants to free itself from Russia’s grip on its exports following many months of acrimonious relations over gas supplies and prices.
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noticeably omitted mentioning Nabucco in a keynote address to the annual energy exhibition, sparking discussion amongst industry watchers looking for clues into the thinking of the leader of the ex-Soviet republic and the prospects for EU backed Nabucco.
Turkmenistan has not formally committed yet to any supplies for Nabucco even though its officials have mentioned the 3,300-km long pipeline as part of the country's scheme to diversify its markets.
Still, today’s announcement marks a big step forward to the EU backed pipeline
Turkmenistan's support as a gas supplier could prove to be key for Nabucco because the project has been seriously questioned over the lack of potential sources. As of now, after its expected completion in 2014, it is expected to draw gas from Iraqi Kurdistan and Azerbaijan.