The Western press reports that on April 24-25, an international conference will be convened in Paris on the issue of attracting investments in the energy sector of Turkmenistan. One of the organizers is the British GaffneyCline company, which explored the Turkmen “Galknysh” mine, where the gas reserves were estimated at 28.2 trillion cubic meters. The mine also has 300 million tons of oil reserves. According to the executive director of the British company, the Turkmen mine is “a treasury of global energy resources”.
At the same time, there is information that Turkmenistan is negotiating with Turkey on the issue of exporting gas to that country through the territory of Iran, and from there to Europe. According to Irna agency, “a principle agreement was reached” in the negotiations. At the initial stage, Turkmenistan will export gas to Turkey and Europe “under a swap agreement with Iran, and then through a pipeline.” In fact, a conference is being held in Paris to attract investment in Turkmenistan’s energy sector to finance the construction of that very pipeline.
It is noteworthy that the conference on investments in the energy sector of Turkmenistan is being convened in Paris, and one of the initiators is a British company. It can be assumed that we are dealing with a British-French joint initiative, which includes Iran and Turkey. Apparently, the formation of a consortium is in the future. The term of the Azerbaijani “deal of the century” expires in autumn. There is an opinion that the parties will agree to extend the deal until 2050 on the existing basis. But even Azerbaijani sources admit that the volumes of oil production have decreased by about a third in recent years.
A new opportunity for Europe’s energy security is opening up in the Caspian basin of Turkmenistan. The problem is, of course, first of all financial and economic, the companies interested in Turkmen energy sources will “catch their fish”. But it is a fact that the foundations of Azerbaijan’s economic, military and political ambitions were laid in 1994. is the agreement concluded under the “sponsorship” of the British BP. If the Turkmen “project” is implemented, the regional role of Baku will most likely be reconsidered.
This perspective is certainly valued first of all in Baku. Russia’s position is also a problem. The operation of the new field gives Turkmenistan the opportunity to export gas to Afghanistan and Pakistan. In this sense, Ashgabat can be a serious competitor to “Gazporm”, if we assume that China is also interested in the energy carriers of Central Asia. Accordingly, both Baku and Moscow should be interested in the failure of the Turkmen “consortium”.
Apparently, the main reason for Aliyev’s apologies to France is that the Paris energy initiative significantly weakens Baku’s position in relations with the European Union. What countermeasures will Moscow and Baku take or can take? There seems to be a lack of analytical and strategic professional forecasts in Armenia, which increases the range of political “black and white” assessments, which parallely deepens the “black hole” of geopolitical impatience.
#golden #age #Azerbaijan #closing #Question #BakuErzrum #gas #pipeline
