Friday July 10, 07:43 PM
Turkmenistan ready to join Nabucco pipeline: president
ASHGABAT (AFP) - Turkmenistan is prepared to supply gas to the European pipeline project Nabucco, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said Friday in a report carried by the national news agency.
"Turkmenistan, consistent with the principles of diversifying its energy transport network on world markets, is considering all existing possibilities to participate in major international projects, as for example the Nabucco project," he said.
The 3,300-kilometre (2,000-mile) pipeline is expected to pump as much as 31 billion cubic metres of gas from the Caspian Sea to Austria via Turkey and the Balkans, bypassing Russia.
It is a rival to Russia's South Stream project, developed by Russian gas giant Gazprom and Italy's Eni (Milan: ENI.MI - news) , which will channel Russian gas through Bulgaria to Western Europe under the Black Sea.
Relations between Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic in central Asia, and Russia have been strained in recent weeks, notably following an explosion in April on a pipeline linking the two countries.
While the line has been repaired, Turkmenistan has refused to resume gas deliveries to Russia.
Industry analysts have raised questions about the Nabucco project, noting that its suppliers were uncertain.
Turkemenistan, along with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, have been seen as key potential providers of gas to the pipeline.
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