Romania supports Turkmen gas delivery to European markets

Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Oct. 12 / Trend H. Hasanov / A joint document signed by Turkmen and Romanian presidents Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Traian Basescu in Ashgabat, testifies to the importance of supplying Turkmen energy resources to Europe, the Turkmen government said today. Basescu has paid an official visit to Turkmenistan (Oct. 11-12). According to the document, the parties agreed to contribute to intensifying the bilateral dialogue on energy security and the projects of natural gas supplies from Turkmenistan to Europe. According to the government report, the Romanian president said that significant progress has been recently achieved in the Turkmen-Romanian relations, which confirms the mutual willingness to accelerate partnership, as well as within the dialogue with the EU. The Romanian president appreciated Turkmenistan's readiness to accelerate a constructive dialogue with the European Union and Turkmenistan's initiatives in energy supplies to the European market. President Basescu has also confirmed Romania's support to speed up ratification of the cooperation treaty between Turkmenistan and the European Union. Moreover, according to the document, the parties expressed interest in cooperation in the following areas: joint oil operations, purchase of natural gas on the Turkmen market, joint rendering specialized services in the oil and gas sector. The experts believe that the route to Europe via the Caspian Sea is looking more attractive for Turkmenistan, ranking fourth on the largest natural gas reserves in the world (after Russia, Iran and Qatar). Turkmenistan showed great interest in gas pipeline project Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI) in spring 2012. The project envisages the supplies of liquid Caspian gas via the Black Sea coast of Georgia to Romania. "The sides stressed the importance of Turkmen natural gas to Europe, as well as via Nabucco and AGRI which are priority projects for Romania," the statement made during Berdimuhamedov's visit to Bucharest said. The Baku famous declaration on the AGRI project was signed on September 14, 2010. Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary are interested in its implementation. The project envisages transporting Azerbaijani gas via gas pipelines to the Black Sea coast of Georgia, where the gas will be liquefied at a special terminal. Afterwards, it will be delivered to the terminal in the Romanian port of Constanta by tankers. Afterwards, the liquefied gas will be brought to a state of natural gas. After using the available gas infrastructure in the country, it will be delivered to meet the needs of Romania and other European countries. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az