Brussels, 13/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - With the signing of a long-term gas agreement with Azerbaijan on Thursday, the EU has taken another step towards the practical application of the Nabucco project.
The agreement was signed in Baku on Thursday 13 January, between the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, who is planning on his country supplying the EU with gas over the long term. In a press release, Barroso stated that “Azerbaijan commits to supplying substantial volumes of gas over the long-term to the European Union while Europe provides access to its market for them”. The president of the Commission affirmed that “this is a major breakthrough. This agreement confirms Europe's direct access to gas from the Caspian basin, thus enabling the realisation of the Southern Corridor. This new supply route will enhance the energy security of European consumers and businesses”.
The Southern Energy Corridor project is planning on building several gas pipelines to supply Caspian gas to Europe. This will help reduce EU dependency on Russian deliveries, which make up 40% of European gas imports. Southern Corridor infrastructure projects include the ITGI gas pipeline, which is expected to supply Caspian Sea gas to Italy via Turkey and Greece. The Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline and the Nabucco gas pipeline have a capacity of 31,000,000,000 m³ a year, and as from 2014 they are expected to link up Central Asian gas fields to western Europe through Turkey and south eastern Europe, bypassing Russia. This will be done through the construction of a 3,300 km long pipeline.
President Barroso is expected to visit Turkmenistan on Friday. This country also has significant gas resources and is another potential gas supplier through the Southern Corridor. (E.H./transl.fl)