An EU proposal calls for the 27-country bloc to hold a “high-level meeting” with the countries of the Caspian basin and transit states such as Turkey and Georgia in spring 2009 in a bid to kick-start the diversification of gas supplies. To this effect, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet told New Europe in Astana that Kazakhstan may become a supplier for the US and EU-backed Nabucco gas pipeline project.
“Yes, I discussed (Nabucco) also today (October 17) in the morning when I had bilateral meeting with president (Nursultan Nazarbayev) and tomorrow (October 18) I also have meeting with Prime Minister (Karim Massimov) and my colleague, Foreign Minister (Marat Tazhin) and as far as I understand there is interest from both sides, from European side and also from Kazakhstan side, to really have this trans-Caspian connection,” Paet said on the sideline of a foreign ministers conference in Astana.
Ferran Tarradellas Espuny, spokesman for EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, told New Europe telephonically from Brussels on October 15 that the proposal for the high-level meeting in 2009 is an idea that would take place under the upcoming Czech presidency. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens,” he said, adding that the conflict in Georgia has not hindered Nabucco. Instead, it increased the urgency to push forward the EU-backed project that has been discussed for a long time.
Kazakhstan will be part of the discussion, the EU energy spokesman said, adding that Turkmenistan has been an obvious potential source for Nabucco, but Kazakhstan could export gas for the pipeline as well using a connection between the two Central Asian states. Tarradellas Espuny also noted that a second EU energy review is being discussed by the European Commission and on November 12 it will come up with a package of measures addressing energy security, including some measures about security of supply of gas.
The Baltic states in particular look likely to become increasingly dependent on Russian gas exports in the future. Asked if Tallinn shares Vilnius’ concerns about energy diversification and overreliance on Russia, Paet said in Astana that “it’s not even important from where in the sense the energy comes or the majority of energy, but important is that anyway we should have alternatives. It means not only one source but different sources.” He reminded that now the EU is also building up its common energy policy and the most important part is how to get real alternatives. He said the EU is discussing pipelines trans-Caspian connections, Norwegian gas pipelines and Nabucco.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry press secretary Ilyas T. Omarov told New Europe in Astana that for his country considering its involvement in Nabucco “is not a political decision, it’s economical first of all.” Nevertheless, some analysts say Nabucco may face serious competition from Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline. Asked if South Stream is beating Nabucco, Russian Foreign Affairs official Alexander N. Alekseev told New Europe in Athens earlier in the month, “You see we have no problem with any kind of project. We know that the project collaborated by Russia Federation, South Stream, has a chance to begin a success story. For Nabucco, it is not our problem. We are not afraid of the competition. We try to convince that our project has all chances for success and that our project is very useful not only for several countries but for Europe as well,” Alekseev said. As I was getting ready to board my transit flight to Astana at Turkey’s Istanbul airport on October 15, it occurred to me that Nabucco would transport 30 billion cubic metres of Caspian gas to Europe from Turkey to an Austrian gas hub via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, bypassing Russia.
Asked jokingly what message he would like me to relay to the Kazakhs as I was in heading to Astana, the EU energy spokesman replied telephonically: “Tell them we like Kazakhstan very much; we like their gas. We don’t like their meat horse roll but we like their gas.”