A pipeline deal signed at the weekend by Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan giving Russia access to gas from the Caspian Sea is bad news for Europe, US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said on Monday.
"Europe needs to diversify its energy sources and Europeans should take due note of this," Bodman told a press conference during a meeting of the International Energy Agency.
restoration
The presidents of Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, meeting in the Caspian port of Turkmenbashi, on Saturday agreed on the restoration of an existing pipeline.
They also decided on new construction on a route from Turkmenistan to Russia via Kazakhstan.
The deal represented a major triumph for Moscow, which has long pushed the route over the rival Nabucco project, a US proposal that would cross the Caspian.
The accord was also seen as likely to increase Europe's energy dependence on Russia.
mounting concerns
European officials have voiced mounting concern over the power that Moscow wields because of its massive oil and gas reserves, as well as its control of energy supply transportation from Central Asia.
Nevertheless the EU's Energy Commissioner Andris Pielbalgs remained upbeat Monday.
The deal meant there would be more gas available for the EU, "which is no bad thing," he said.
Nor did he think the new deal definitively ruled out the US-backed Nabucco project.
William Ramsay, deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency, also remained positive, saying that the financial details of the deal were still not clear.
"I think there are better options," Ramsay said. "A trans-Caspian pipeline could be more profitable," he said, a reference to the Nabucco project.
call on the czechs
Meanwhile, Georgian parliamentary president Nino Burdzhanadze called on the Czech Republic to diversify its energy sources by backing a trans-Caucasian gas pipeline that would avoid transiting Russia.
"Today it is important to think about security but also about energy independence," Burdzhanadze told reporters at the Prague headquarters of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
"We suggest using alternative sources such as Azerbaijan and Georgia," he said.
"Russia is trying everything possible to avoid Turkmenistan being involved in an alternative [gas shipment] possibility, it would be sad if that project blocks all other projects," Burdzhanadze said.
"I'm sure there is room for cooperation. We should find room for a new contract and bring gas through Georgia and Azerbaijan to Europe," she said.
Georgia was forced to accept a doubling in the price of gas supplied by Russian giant Gazprom last December.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said concrete work on the project would begin in the first half of next year and would increase capacity along the route by at least 12 billion cubic meters per year by 2012.
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