Russia's new move to block Nabucco project creates concern in Turkey and in EU. 'We are closely monitoring and calling on the EU to give more commitments for this project,' say Turkish officials, according to local media.
The world's greatest natural gas producer and the main supplier of Europe's natural gas, Russia, is focusing on blocking the U.S. and European Union-backed Nabucco natural gas pipeline project that would bring Central Asian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.
Nabucco is a multinational project involving Turkish, Bulgarian, Romanian, Hungarian and Austrian gas pipeline companies. Its feasibility studies were funded by the EU's TEN Program. Construction of the pipeline is scheduled to start in 2008 and the first flow of natural gas from the Caspian to Eastern Europe to start by 2011-2012. The project would help diversify Europe's energy resources and decrease its dependency on Russia.
However, the Hungarian government last month announced that they have agreed with Russia's giant natural gas company Gazprom to buy Russian natural gas from the Blue Stream II pipeline, a rival project to Nabucco. This decision by the Hungarian government created concerns not only in Europe but also in Turkey given that this project will increase Turkey's strategic importance ahead of the country’s EU membership.
“We are closely monitoring the situation with Hungary. Even though it is not very likely Hungary to violate the EU's energy policies, we still have some concerns,” said an official from the Ministry of Energy to the TDN on the condition of anonymity.
The EU, which is around 60 percent dependent on Russian gas, is trying to diversify its energy resources mainly with Caspian, Central Asian and Middle Eastern gas supplies. “Having set this as a policy, the EU should be more engaged with the Nabucco project and put more pressure on Hungary,” the official added.
Turkey should remain a reliable partner
However, according to the Turkish official, Russia's main aim is not to stop building the pipeline but to sell its natural gas from this line, in order to have a direct route with its European consumers that by-passes Ukrainian and Belarusian territories. But this scenario, too, which needs Turkey's contribution, is threatening the Turkish position of being a credible transit country.
“The motto in the energy world is ‘security and diversity.' If we sit on the table with Russians agreeing to sell Russian gas via Blue Stream II, Turkey would be considered an unreliable partner by the EU. We've got to work on transferring Caspian and Central Asian natural gas to Europeans,” said a high-level Foreign Ministry official.
On the same subject, the energy ministry official said, “The Blue Stream I project with Russia, in 1997, blocked Caspian and Central Asian natural gas, and now if we realize Blue Stream II with Russia, it would certainly kill these countries.”
Counter attack from US
Russia's move will not be left unanswered by the United States and other major Western companies. “Russia's weakest link is Turkmenistan. The United States is trying to convince Turkmenistan to cancel its agreement with Russia that involves the purchase of two trillion cubic meter of natural gas by 2028. If Turkmenistan decides to sell half of this volume to Western markets, it would irk Russia, which isn't able to invest in its own natural gas fields to produce gas to sell,” the Foreign Ministry official added.
(Turkish Daily News, 03/04/2007)