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[JTW Interview] Azerbaijan Supports Any Transport Corridor Which Will Be Realized, Reliable, and Competitive |
13 July 2011By Namig Abbasov
Namig Abbasov: In your opinion, which one or ones are the best option for Azerbaijan: Nabucco, TAP, or ITGI?
Rovshan Ibrahimov: There is simply no best option for Azerbaijan to export its own natural gas in a western direction. Azerbaijan is looking for alternative corridors and the realization of them. The more of them the better since competition defines the price, tariffs, and volume of exported gas. Azerbaijan supports any transport corridor which will be realized, reliable, and competitive.
Namig Abbasov: SOCAR’s president Rovnaq Abdullayev stated that Azerbaijan can transport its natural gas not only through Nabucco but through other more commercial routes. How would you evaluate this statement?
Rovshan Ibrahimov: Actually, this is a misunderstanding of Abdullayev’s statement. He wanted to say that Nabucco has got the same priority as other possible corridors. Nabucco has never been Azerbaijan’s project, but the government always supports it and encourages its realization. That’s all. Sometimes there are some unfair expectations of Azerbaijan to take some steps toward realizing the Nabucco project. The only way Azerbaijan might guarantee a limited volume of natural gas in the case of Nabucco is if it will be commercially attractive.
Namig Abbasov: One of drawbacks for the realization of the Nabucco project is the absence of the Trans-Caspian Pipeline. How do you think the construction of that pipeline is possible?
Rovshan Ibrahimov: It is possible, but it is need of political support by a major state (I guess only the USA can guarantee it) and financing for security. However, neither the Nabucco consortium of member companies nor the governments of these companies do anything for realizing the construction of the Trans-Caspian Pipeline. Paradoxically, they expected that Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan would construct it, even though Nabucco is not a project of these two states. That will never happen.
Associate Professor Rovshan Ibrahimov is Head of the Department of International Relations at Qafqaz University in Azerbaijan. rovshanibrahimov@gmail.com
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13 July 2011
Namig Abbasov (JTW)
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