World's Energy

04-24-2009 - Upstream OnLine - Turkmenistan is keen on the European Union-backed Nabucco gas pipeline but needs Brussels to come up with concrete proposals on its implementation, a senior US official said today. In Turkmenistan to attend an energy conference, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Krol said the gas-rich Caspian nation was serious about efforts to diversify gas exports and break into new markets. "The president of Turkmenistan has said that he is interested in Nabucco," Krol, who met top Turkmen officials during his visit this week, told Reuters in an interview. "It is now waiting for concrete proposals from companies and participant states," Krol added. Europe has long courted Central Asia's biggest gas producer whom it sees it as a potential big supplier for Nabucco, a project designed to reduce EU energy dependence on Russia. But analysts say the project may be headed for failure unless the EU commits to buying Caspian gas quickly. Relations between Turkmenistan, which sells most of its gas to Russia, and Moscow soured this month after a gas explosion on a key pipeline which Turkmenistan blamed on Russia, giving the West a chance to firm up its position and win Turkmen support. "This explosion is of course a technical matter but it is a good argument in favour of diversification," said Krol, who oversees South and Central Asian affairs. "There can be earthquakes and other disasters and that is why it is always good to have an alternative." Addressing officials at the conference, President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said he wanted to work closer with Europe to diversify flows, a remark which could be upsetting for Russia which considers Turkmenistan as part of its sphere of interest.