Turkey preparing to drop lift off
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Barçın Yinanç
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Mart 03, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - No one can deny the fact that Nabucco, the project that will bring Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey, has taken a new and a speedy pace. No doubt, the war between Georgia and Russia last summer has underlined the need for all sides to fine-tune their positions in order to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of the project.
The relevant parties got their acts together and the conference in Budapest last January has proved to be a big leap forward. Now work is underway to get the intergovernmental agreement ready as soon as possible. Â
The real good development is, however, the rumors that one of the major obstacles that has been delaying the project is about to disappear. The word is out that the Turkish government is slowly backing down from its demand of a 15 percent lift-off from the gas in transit through its territory as well as a price discount on gas delivered to Turkey from Azerbaijan. It seems that especially the Energy Ministry has come to the point of understanding that as the request for a 15 percent lift off is against EU rules and regulation, insisting on it has done nothing but delay the project.
But let’s not be that unfair to the Energy Ministry. Thanks to their insistence, the companies as well as the governments have been more sensitive to Turkish concerns to secure its own need for natural gas. It is yet unclear what the exact formula to more or less satisfy the Turkish side will be.
The European Union is mulling the idea of conducting joint negotiations with the supplier countries rather than each consumer country striking a deal on their own. This idea has been circulating also as a way to alleviate Turkish concerns, if indeed Turkey is included in the so-called Caspian Development Cooperation.
Meanwhile, on the Azeri front there is one good and one bad news. Despite the efforts of both Turkish and Azeri presidents to avoid going to international arbitration, Turkey’s BOTAŞ and the company running Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline were unable to solve their disagreement over the amount of the operating fee. BOTAŞ has been asking for a hike on the 35 cents operation fee per barrel, arguing that the operation costs have increased over the years. On a separate issue, Turkey and Azerbaijan seem to get closer to a deal as to the pricing of natural gas carried through the Baku-Tblisi-Erzurum gas pipeline. The two sides have been unable to reach a deal, mainly due to Turkish pressure over the Azeri capital to buy the gas for prices way below the international market levels. According to some reliable sources, the Turkish side is planning to come with some more realistic offers, raising hopes for an agreement in the near future.
The real good development is, however, the rumors that one of the major obstacles that has been delaying the project is about to disappear. The word is out that the Turkish government is slowly backing down from its demand of a 15 percent lift-off from the gas in transit through its territory as well as a price discount on gas delivered to Turkey from Azerbaijan. It seems that especially the Energy Ministry has come to the point of understanding that as the request for a 15 percent lift off is against EU rules and regulation, insisting on it has done nothing but delay the project.
But let’s not be that unfair to the Energy Ministry. Thanks to their insistence, the companies as well as the governments have been more sensitive to Turkish concerns to secure its own need for natural gas. It is yet unclear what the exact formula to more or less satisfy the Turkish side will be.
The European Union is mulling the idea of conducting joint negotiations with the supplier countries rather than each consumer country striking a deal on their own. This idea has been circulating also as a way to alleviate Turkish concerns, if indeed Turkey is included in the so-called Caspian Development Cooperation.
Meanwhile, on the Azeri front there is one good and one bad news. Despite the efforts of both Turkish and Azeri presidents to avoid going to international arbitration, Turkey’s BOTAŞ and the company running Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline were unable to solve their disagreement over the amount of the operating fee. BOTAŞ has been asking for a hike on the 35 cents operation fee per barrel, arguing that the operation costs have increased over the years. On a separate issue, Turkey and Azerbaijan seem to get closer to a deal as to the pricing of natural gas carried through the Baku-Tblisi-Erzurum gas pipeline. The two sides have been unable to reach a deal, mainly due to Turkish pressure over the Azeri capital to buy the gas for prices way below the international market levels. According to some reliable sources, the Turkish side is planning to come with some more realistic offers, raising hopes for an agreement in the near future.