The US calls on Turkmenistan to take advantage of SGC

Baku / 25.05.19 / Turan: The US State Department positively assesses the signing the Convention on the Status of the Caspian Sea last year. The US urges Turkmenistan to take advantage of the agreements reached by the Caspian states to join the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), which will give the country a positive impetus for development, said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy, Sandra Oudkirk.

"We believe that the agreement on the status of the Caspian Sea is a positive step forward. We believe that the export corridor with Turkmenistan makes sense (to build). They are now exporting (gas) to China, they have potential and it will be fine if they are linked to Europe through Azerbaijan or other countries," RIA-Novosti quotes Oudkirk.

She believes that this will bring additional competition to the market. "We would like Turkmenistan to be able to realize all the possible options. This decision is for Turkmenistan, but, as I noted in my speech earlier, Turkmenistan depends on one consumer, but their economy can get more active support," concluded Oudkirk

The "South Gas Corridor" with a length of 3.5 thousand kilometers will allow Europe to deliver gas produced on the shelf of the Caspian Sea. The South Caucasus Gas Pipeline, TANAP and TAP are components of SGC. The TANAP project envisages the transportation of gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field via Georgia to Turkey, and after the construction of TAP in 2020, to the countries of Southern Europe. -06D--