EU moves closer to realizing Trans-Caspian gas pipeline

(firstenercastfinancial) -- A pipeline carrying Turkmen natural gas across the Caspian Sea for delivery to Europe will move closer to realization, as the involved parties are preparing to sign agreements later this year, Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Natiq Aliyev said Wednesday.

The European Union is preparing two documents together with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan that will allow Europe to take natural gas from Turkmenistan and other Central Asian countries, said Aliyev.

Securing gas supplies from Turkmenistan has become a priority for the EU, as it promotes what it calls the Southern Corridor for Caspian gas transit to Europe in an attempt to lower the union's dependence on Russian gas supplies.

The two documents--an inter-governmental agreement and a political document to support the Southern Corridor--will be ready for signing later this year, Aliyev said. The proposed pipeline, which has been discussed for over a decade, will stretch 300 kilometers from Turkmenistan across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan.

Last September, the EU Council gave a mandate for negotiations between the EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to build the Trans-Caspian pipeline.