EU ENVOY: ARMENIA MAY BE ROUTE FOR FUTURE PIPELINE
Fulya Ozerkan
Hurriyet
Feb 19 2010
Turkey
The normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia and
the opening of their sealed border are expected to have positive
repercussions in the energy field for both countries, according to the
EU’s special representative for Central Asia, Pierre Morel. Armenia
could also be a route for a future pipeline, he says
There are many options for new Caspian-Turkish energy pipelines due
to the "mobile energy landscape," according to a senior European Union
official who predicts Armenia could be the site of a future network.
"There have been different options. Things have not been fixed up
to now. The greatest idea to say is well, in the future, why not use
Armenia as a way for other pipelines," Pierre Morel, the EU’s special
representative for Central Asia, told the Hurriyet Daily News &
Economic Review in a Friday interview.
The normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia and
the opening of the sealed border are expected to have positive
repercussions in the energy field for both Armenia and Turkey. While
the détente would allow Armenia to become a possible transit route for
energy pipelines shipping oil and gas from the Caspian Sea to Turkey’s
Mediterranean coast, it would also help make Turkey a major energy hub.
"There have been different ideas about the energy routes. The southern
corridor is not just Nabucco, but a wider concept. It is also about
transportation. We have to move transportation to the Caucasus,"
said Morel.
The Nabucco pipeline is an EU-led and US-backed project aimed at
transporting Middle Eastern and Caspian gas through Turkey to Europe in
an effort to break the Russian monopoly over regional energy supplies.
"But once again look at what the other corridors are," Morel said. "A
corridor is not one pipeline. A corridor is a system of pipelines. For
sure, when the southern corridor takes shape, you’ll have a system
of pipelines."
‘Northern Iraqi gas for Nabucco’
Morel said, "Nabucco is going through a good phase and has been moving
through important steps" following the signing of an inter-governmental
agreement in Ankara last summer.
"Many said Nabucco was a dream … [But] this was done and
Turkey played an important role. We’re coming step-by-step toward
concretization," he said.
One of the major obstacles for Nabucco is a lack of gas earmarked for
transit. Morel said northern Iraq could be a potential source while
emphasizing hesitations over Iranian gas.
"We have had more discussions today about northern Iraq as a potential
source of gas for Nabucco. [Meanwhile,] there are question marks
connected with Iran, not only political questions, but the context
of the Iranian energy policy, which has been rather specific," he said.
Morel held discussions at both parliament as well as the foreign and
prime ministries regarding Caspian energy, the southern corridor,
Central Asian developments and the Turkish-Russian relationship.
‘Baku sends signals to all’
Commenting on Azerbaijan’s energy policy, Morel said it had become
clear the country was trying to keep its options open.
Baku signed a deal with Russian energy giant Gazprom last year to
transfer 500 million cubic meters of gas to Europe in the first
phase of the Shah Deniz gas field. The agreement, which followed the
normalization process between Turkey and Armenia, was regarded as an
ultimatum to Ankara and a blow to the Nabucco plan.
"[Azerbaijan] is sending signals to their different partners,"
Morel said, adding that the country is also trying to send signals
to Turkey, the EU and Russia. "The 500-cubic-meter agreement they
signed with Russia is specific, not long-term. It is for one time,
but it is also a signal."
He said all the major European energy companies presently operating
in Azerbaijan were following the developments "very closely."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
