Trans-Caspian gas pipeline absolutely safe

Laying of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline is absolutely safe in case of fulfilling all necessary technical procedures, Telman Zeynalov, the head of the Azerbaijani National Ecological Forecasting Center, told Trend August 18.

“If all regulatory procedures prescribed in the relevant documentation are observed during the gas pipeline construction, danger is out of the question,” he said.

“While investing huge funds in the construction of such an important gas pipeline, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan will certainly fulfill all necessary procedures,” the expert said.

"The process will likely to be toughly controlled by Baku and Ashgabat," he said.

Despite the unresolved status of the Caspian Sea, Baku and Ashgabat have repeatedly stated that the construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline refers only to these two countries.

The fundamental principles of defining the legal status of the Caspian Sea, developed at the summit of the Caspian littoral states in Astrakhan, in September 2014, should form the basis of the Convention, which will be signed at the next summit of the Caspian littoral states.

Considering the mutual interest of the parties, the partnership of Turkmenistan and the European Union is going to be very promising and mutually beneficial, the Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources of Turkmenistan said in June.

“So now, the important role is assigned to the project of construction of Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, which will run under the Caspian Sea from the Turkmen coasts to Azerbaijan,” the ministry said. “Preliminary environmental studies on the safety of the route have been conducted.”

The first high-level meeting of a working group on the Trans-Caspian pipeline was held in July in Brussels.

The Trans-Caspian Pipeline project is regarded as the best option for delivering Turkmen resources to European markets. The project envisages laying around 300 kilometers long gas pipeline under the Caspian Sea to the shores of Azerbaijan. Further, Turkmen gas can be transported to Turkey, which borders with European countries.

The project may be implemented as a part of the Southern Gas Corridor project designed to transport gas from the Caspian Sea region to European countries.

/By Trend/