The Turkmen government stated the gas from the Northern Iolotan field will be delivered to Europe by EU Southern Corridor's pipelines.The European Commission is interested in the project in order to decrease EU dependence on Russia's gas supplies.
Germany and France are going to help Russia to realize the Southstream pipeline, but the Caspian Region's gas still remains a valid option to foster the European energetic security.
On Thursday 11/16 Turkmenistan declared the Galkishkin natural gas field's exploitation will start soon. As Reuters reported, the Galkishkin field, also known as Northern Iolotan, contains 21,3 tcm of natural gas.
A permission by the Turkmen government already authorizes Chinese national concern CNPC, Qatari companies Gulf Oil and Gas Fze, and Korean companies LNG International Corp. and Hyundai Engineering Corp to exploit the Galkishkin gas field.
Turkmenistan, which is the fourth country in the world for what concerns national gas fields, ensured that the gas from the Northern Iolotan will be delivered to Pakistan and India by the TAPI pipeline, and to Europe by the EU Southern Corridor pipelines.
In order to differ EU gas supplies from Russia's energetic quasi monopoly in Europe, the European Commission planed the construction of several pipelines to carry gas from the Caspian Region directly to the EU.
Moreover, the European Commission already signed with Azerbaijan a pre-agreement to carry 16 bcm of Azeri gas per year from the Shakh Deniz gas field.
Following the Northern Iolotan's exploitation start, the European Commission Chairwoman Patrizia Flor invited the Turkmen government to start negotiating contracts with the most important European energetic companies.
According to Trend News Agency, the project the EU planed to import gas from the Caspian Region has been endorsed by the USA.
On Friday 11/17, the US Department of State special delegate for energetic deals Carlos Pascual underlined all the EU pipeline's projects from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are important to guarantee the European energetic security.
The Caspian Region's gas could help Europe to decrease the dependence on Russia's gas supplies, which actually cover the 40% of European total internal need.
Nevertheless, Europe's dependence on Russian gas will increase after the Southstream pipeline's construction will start next 12/7. The Southstream is conceived to carry 63 bcm of Russian gas to Europe via the Black Sea seabed, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia.
The pipeline's shareholders are Russian national gas major Gazprom, Italian concern ENI, German company Wintershall and French company EDF. From the political point of view, the Southstream is supported by Russia, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and all pipeline's transit states.
The "Orthodox Pipeline, as the Southstream is also named, is a Russia's political project the Kremlin conceived to maintain Gazprom's energetic hegemony on Europe.
The European Commission criticized the Southstream pipeline because it increases Europe's dependence on Russia's gas, blocks the EU gas supplies's diversification project, and endangers EU countries' national security.
Matteo Cazzulani
