CORRECTED: Azerbaijan will provide Turkmenistan with favorable gas-transit regime - minister
(Aliyev spoke with reporters Tuesday)
BAKU. April 24 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan is prepared to set up a favorable regime for the transit of Turkmen gas through its territory, Azerbaijan's Industry and Energy Minister Natik Aliyev told reporters on Tuesday.
"If Turkmenistan decides to transport gas to Europe and for that requires the building of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, Azerbaijan is at the state and governmental levels prepared to do all that is necessary to realize this project. We are ready to provide all infrastructure, licensing, permissions, and to create a favorable regime for the transportation of Turkmen gas across Azerbaijani territory," Aliyev said.
For its part, Turkmenistan is prepared to guarantee transit of at least ten billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas via the gas corridor, he said.
"The main thing now is financial issues. We would like to hear from the European Commission proposals on guaranteed purchases, deliveries, guaranteed financing for this project, and to consider the financing mechanism. There should also be involved in this project companies that will own their own gas exported via this pipeline to Europe," Aliyev said.
Azerbaijan also stands ready to provide Turkmenistan with its pipeline-laying vessels and auxiliary ships, construction ships, and cranes for the building of the gas pipeline, the minister said.
Putting the Trans-Caspian pipeline into actuality requires the creation in Azerbaijan's sector of the Caspian of separate gas-pipeline infrastructure not tied to Shah Deniz deposit infrastructure or other existing maritime infrastructure, Aliyev said.
"There has to be created an independent working system, since there are accounting issues here for oil, losses, and other things, because a new pipeline is required. What that will be will become clear after technical research has been performed," he said.
The International Investment Bank and several European banks, on a proposal by the European Commission, will be financing the preparation of a feasibility study for the Trans-Caspian pipeline, Aliyev said.
As reported, the Council of the European Union extended a mandate for negotiations between the European Commission, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan over the building of the Trans-Caspian pipeline last September. The roughly 300-km pipeline is planned to extend from Turkmenistan's Caspian shore to Azerbaijan's, where it will be linked to the Southern Gas Corridor.