Azerbaijan’s Expansion on the European gas Markets and the Opening of Central Asian Economies to the World

Authors:

Pages: 66-74

Abstract:

With the completion of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the Southern Gas Corridor from the Shah Deniz II field to Brindisi (Italy) came into commercial operation. There is already an alternative to Russian natural gas supplies to Southeast and Southern Europe. The continuation of Azerbaijan’s expansion towards Central Europe, including Slovakia is on the agenda. This requires new quantities of natural gas, and one of the most appropriate ways to provide them is to include Turkmenistan in the Southern Gas Corridor and the entry of Turkmen natural gas into European gas markets. Thus, the interests of Azerbaijan, which has a ready infrastructure for natural gas supply, and of Turkmenistan, which has the fourth largest natural gas reserves in the world, enter into a synergy relationship. At the same time, the cooperation between the countries of the Caspian region, especially among Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, in ferry services across the Caspian Sea and in other joint transport projects is sharply increasing. This enables Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to load their new Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTC) railroad, which is also part of the new Great Silk Road. It also guarantees Turkmenistan that it will have the necessary transport and logistics if it achieves its ambitions for leadership in methanol production. The rapprochement between the countries of the Caspian region has also resulted in agreements on the use of hitherto disputed oil fields on the Caspian Sea shelf. The result is an even greater opening of the region to European markets and world trade.

Keywords:

Caspian region; Azerbaijan; Turkmenistan; energy carriers; diversification.

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