Turkmenistan gas: The construction of a pipeline across the bed of the Caspian Sea to Iran means that gas from Turkmenistan could be available for import to Western Europe as early 2019, the the Vice-Chairman of the EU’s Energy Commission for Energy Maros Sevkovic said yesterday, after a meeting with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in Ashgabat.
The pipeline could cost upwards of $5bn and would funnel gas under the Caspian Sea from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan before connecting with the existing South Caucasus pipeline and the planned Trans-Anatolian pipeline (TANAP) through Turkey.
It would carry as much as 30bn m³ a year and would help the EU with its ambition to dilute its dependence on Russia as a supply of energy, but the idea is almost certain to encounter opposition from other countries with a stake in the Caspian Sea. Iran believes it to be uneconomic and would prefer an overground link for its gas supplies to TANAP, and this week approached the government in Sofia about the possibility of resurrecting the Nabucco project.
In current circumstances, Russia is also unlikely to give its blessing to a pipeline that could further undermine its bargaining position with the EU.
Turkmenistan gas could be available for import by EU within four years – Sevkovic
EU Vice President Maros Sevkovic
Source: Rosbalt