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Elshad Nasirov: Azerbaijan may reroute gas export to Asian markets

19 November 2009 16:21 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-ECONOMICS. Azerbaijan, Europeâ€™s closest energy ally in the Caspian basin, has announced that it could reroute gas exports to Asian markets, pressuring the European Union to complete pipeline accords to boost its own deliveries from the region.

â€œIf Europe takes too long coming up with a solution, then all the gas will go to Asia,â€ Elshad Nasirov, a vice president at State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) was quoted by foreign media as saying.

His statement was interpreted differently by various foreign media, but none specified where or to whom Elshad Nasirov said this.

He was quoted as saying â€œitâ€™s better to sell gas at Asian prices than be unable to send it to Europe at western prices. Itâ€™s impossible to get gas to Europe under the present circumstancesâ€.

The EUâ€™s planned pipelines to the region, including the OMV AG-led Nabucco, have yet to reach the investment stage.

Russian and Turkish media painted the unconfirmed statement as â€œAzerbaijanâ€™s abandoning the role of the EU’s ally in the Caspian region."

Bloomberg quoted Julian Lee, a senior energy analyst at the Center for Global Energy Studies, as saying Azerbaijanâ€™s inability to agree transit and supply with Turkey, its biggest gas market and most direct route to Europe, has hindered progress on Nabucco and other links.

â€œNasirovâ€™s message to the EU is that the so-called southern corridor to the Caspian region may be lost if Turkey doesnâ€™t act like a â€œresponsible transit nation,â€â€ he added.

Bloomberg made a mention of Elshad Nasirovâ€™s interview with Bloomberg in September in which he said â€œEuropean sales remain a priority for SOCARâ€.

Azerbaijan has been Europeâ€™s closest Caspian energy partner since 1994 when it signed the so-called Contract of the Century, an accord with foreign companies, including BP and Statoil, to develop the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oil fields.