Hurriyet Daily News: Russian factor in Baku’s pipeline decision

“I wish Turkey bought not only 6 billion, but all of the 16 billion cubic meter (bcm) gas that is expected to be exported from the Shah Deniz 2 field in Azerbaijan,” said a former civil servant familiar with energy issues.

The answer to the question why Baku is not selling all its gas, which would seriously reduce Turkey’s dependence on Russia, lies in Azerbaijan’s energy strategy, which was summed up for me by an energy expert as follows: “Oil is a bread-and-butter issue for Azerbaijan; that is, it uses for its own survival. Gas however is a strategic commodity for Baku; it uses it to place Azerbaijan on the world’s map.”

One of the most important pieces of news came in the last days of June, but has been a little bit overshadowed by the continuous dust of developments in Turkey as well as in the region.

The consortium developing the Shah Deniz II gas reserves offshore Azerbaijan made its decision public on June 28, saying it had chosen the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) as the supply route to Europe over Nabucco West.  MORE