Brussels, 07/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - In the short and medium terms, Kazakhstan will not be involved in the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project. This project will be connected to the Nabucco infrastructure as part of the project to channel gas from Central Asia to the EU, particularly through Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. On the sidelines of the energy conference, the Kazak minister for energy, Saouat Mynbaiev, declared on Thursday 6 October in Astana that for the time being, Kazakhstan, “does not have the resources for this gas pipeline”. Most of Kazakhstan's gas production is for domestic consumption or is exported to neighbouring countries, such as Russia and Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan, however, is hoping that its gas sector will continue to grow along with implementation and use of gas reserves. It is aiming to attain a target of 59.3 billion m3 in production by 2015, as opposed to the 37.4 billion m3 it produced in 2010. This bountiful supply is being eagerly eyed up by the EU, Russia and China.
The media in Central Asia seized upon the announcement made by the Commissioner for energy, Günther Oettinger, who was taking part in the energy forum in Astana at the beginning of the week, of negotiations for an energy cooperation agreement between the EU and Kazakhstan as part of a new partnership and co-operation agreement. The media therefore suggested that this could possibly mean the former USSR republic participating in the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project on which the Commission has been granted a negotiating brief by the member states to negotiate an agreement with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on the legal framework for a system of gas pipelines linking the two countries under the Caspian Sea, through which gas would be transported to the EU via the Nabucco infrastructure. (EH/transl.fl)