Turkey may become an oil, gas medidator, says former Armenian PM
GOKHAN KURTARAN
ISTANBUL – Hurriyet Daily News
Sunday, May 29, 2011

Turkey could play a significant role in mediating between energy
dependent Europe and oil- and gas-rich Russia and Iran, said Aram
Sarkisian, a former Armenian prime minister and energy professional
today.

`Without Russia and Iran, Caspian oil and gas could not be transferred
to Europe,’ Sarkisian told the Hurriyet Daily News over the weekend.

`The pipeline projects to bring the vast resources of the Caspian
region to Europe through Turkey are still in question,’ said
Sarkisian, who is currently the president of Euroasia House, a
London-based institution involved in research and policy development
on Russian oil and gas. `Conditions have changed rapidly in the
Caspian region including Turkey after the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude
oil pipeline was stretched from Azerbaijan to Turkey,’ he said, noting
that delays in the implementation of alternative pipelines to Europe
might end up with irrecoverable losses.

He was speaking on the sidelines of `Global Energy Outlook’ conference
organized by the Istanbul International Energy and Climate Center at
Sabanci University.

Urge for Nabucco

`Turkey is the only country that could bring Iran and Russia together
again to open negotiations for energy security in the region,’ he
said. “Russia has always been seen as a mistrusted neighbor, due to
historical constraints. Armenia’s confidence in Russia may be
established by Turkey as it became one of the Russia’s strongest
energy partners.”

According to him, as the energy demand rises in Europe, the long-term
discussions over the details of the route of the Nabucco plan, the gas
bridge project from Asia to Europe, should come to an end.

The pipeline to connect the world’s richest gas regions – the Caspian
region, Middle East and Egypt – to the European consumer markets,
might `change its route to China due to rising demand in Chinese
market,’ he said. `I think the European Union has no energy policy,’
he said. `The vast sources of Caspian oil and gas might go to the
Chinese market eventually if Europe keeps on waiting, delaying the
projects.’

Emphasizing Turkey’s close ties with Russia, the former Armenian prime
minister said the trust harmed by the disagreement resulted in supply
disruptions in many European nations, with complete cutoffs of their
gas supplies transported through Ukraine from Russia in 2009 `could be
restored by Turkey.’ In order to have sustainable energy security in
the region, `we all have to trust in each other in the region,’
Sarkisian told the Daily News.

Arctic resources

Moreover, Sarkisian suggested Turkey and India partner with each other
on the vast Arctic resources. `Turkey and India, as emerging
economies, should have a say on the Arctic oil and gas resources,’
said Sarkisian.

Total Arctic resources are estimated to be nearly 90 billion barrels
of oil, 1.67 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 44 billion
barrels of natural gas liquids, according to the U.S. Geological
Survey.

Emphasizing the importance of the vast oil and gas resources in Iran,
Sarkisian said, `Being a European country both economically and
culturally, Turkey can mediate between Iran and the European Union to
make use of the vast resources there.’ Without the approval of Iran,
Caspian resources could never be fully developed, according to
Sarkisian. `Everyone waits for the change in the Iran, but the change
will come once the EU starts opening its doors to relations with
Iran.’