We need a natural gas pipeline to pass via Turkey, tells EU to its members

BRUSSELS (A.A) - February 14, 2012 - The European Union (EU) Commission has said that they needed a pipeline to carry natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe via Turkey. In a report sent to member countries on the energy sector, the Commission said that there was a need to construct a pipeline to carry Azerbaijani natural gas to the EU via Turkey. Such a pipeline must be big enough to carry more natural gas from the Caspian to Europe, the Commission said. The latest interruptions in the supply of natural gas from Turkey to Greece necessitates the new pipeline to be utilized solely for carrying natural gas to the EU. Otherwise, the demand in Turkey may cause interruptions creating problems for European consumers of natural gas, the Commission stressed in its report. EU Commission's report touched on the Trans-Anatolia natural gas pipeline that would carry 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey and said that this pipeline may be made bigger and replace the Nabucco project to carry natural gas only to the EU. Trans-Anatolia natural gas pipeline will be completed in five years and cost six billion USD. Out of the 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas to be carried by the Trans-Anatolia pipeline, 6 billion cubic meters would be allocated to Turkey while the rest would be sold to Europe. The European Union, fearing interruptions in the supply of natural gas by Turkey during tough winter conditions, wants a natural gas pipeline only for the needs of the EU.