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Azerbaijan, U.S. ink energy MOU

23 March 2007 13:34 (UTC +04:00)

Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Sean McCormack said the deal will further expand high-level dialogue on energy cooperation and increase production and export resources to global markets, APA Bureau reports. He added that the effort is directed to establish a pipeline through Turkey, Greece and Italy, as well as Nabucco pipeline, that would carry Caspian gas onward from Turkey to Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria.
â€œThe $6bn pipeline will beef up competition in the European energy market,â€? said U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza.
He said the projects are not directed against any country, adding â€œRussia already provides 65 percent of the natural gas to Turkey, already provides 40 percent of the import gas into the rest of Europe. So Gazprom has a huge market share already. And what weâ€™re trying to do is increase competition so that the European gas market isnâ€™t as dysfunctional as it is right nowâ€?.
Azeri Foreign Ministerâ€™s visit to the United States is ongoing. /APA/