Speaking to reporters following an energy conference, Yıldız said the state-owned Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) reached an agreement with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) regarding the terms of the transit of natural gas to other countries through Turkey. He said a protocol would be signed between Turkey and Azerbaijan next month, an occasion which Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will attend.
The minister said he and Revnag Abdullayev, an Azerbaijani deputy who is also the head of SOCAR, recently brought the issue to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s attention, requesting he reach a compromise on it. Yıldız said the government was eventually able to alleviate Azerbaijani concerns. Yıldız asserted that both sides had taken some steps to reach a compromise, emphasizing that these steps should not be viewed as concessions.
Azerbaijan lacks a direct gas link to Europe and has been unable to agree with Turkey on terms for the transit of larger volumes of gas. The Azerbaijani president had earlier claimed that Azerbaijan has been unable to export its natural gas to Europe for the past two years because transit issues between Azerbaijan and Turkey are still unresolved, signaling that they did not want to wrangle with Turkey over the issue any longer. Azerbaijan previously said it might explore alternative routes for the gas from its Shah Deniz gas field when the development of the second stage of the gas field starts unless a compromise is reached over the transit terms offered by Turkey, which Azerbaijan found to be “unacceptable.” The project aims to reduce Europe’s reliance on gas imports from or via Russia.
Recalling that there were a few remaining articles that both countries were negotiating, the minister said each side went to great efforts to ease the concerns of the other. The minister said the two sides agreed on some major terms. “Both sides have agreed they will contribute to the liberalization of the gas market following the beginning of the transfer and that transit terms will be defined in line with global price standards. Our Azerbaijani brothers have also promised they will keep providing the necessary amount of gas for the project, a critical step to the benefit of Turkey as a globally important energy route,” he explained.
Deal on price and amount of Azerbaijani gasYıldız told reporters that the prolonged negotiations between the brother countries also resulted in an agreement on the price Turkey will pay for natural gas from Azerbaijan. He said they reached an agreement on the price and amount of natural gas Turkey will purchase from Azerbaijan as part of the Shah Deniz project.
Commenting on Azerbaijani claims that Turkey was receiving “cheap” gas from its near neighbor, Yıldız said the government is ready to compensate for any losses to the Azerbaijani side. Asked whether the Azerbaijanis could provide gas for the planned Nabucco pipeline, Yıldız said such a development was still on the table. “It is not only Turkey’s responsibility to find the necessary gas for Nabucco. There are six members in the consortium… But of course, Turkey could carry out relatively better negotiations with its neighbors Iraq and Iran along with Azerbaijan.” |
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