Oil and Gas Pipeline Watch

Iran, Turkey hold gas export talks

Iran and Turkey agreed to a bilateral deal to develop the Iranian South Pars gas field to bring natural resources to European markets, officials said.

The agreement to construct a 1,100-mile pipeline from the southern Iranian port of Assaluyeh will transfer around 1.2 trillion cubic feet per year of natural gas from three blocks in the offshore South Pars field to Europe, the news Web site ArabianBusiness.com reported.

Iranian gas officials say their unique position in the region makes the Islamic Republic a potential energy hub, linking Central Asia to Europe and the Middle East.

"On the one hand, Iran bridges the Caspian Sea and Central Asia to the Persian Gulf countries, Pakistan and India, and on the other hand, the country serves as a link between the Central Asian region and Europe," said Reza Kasaizadeh, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Export Co.

Turkey plans to bring Iranian gas to Europe through Greece as the country looks to boost its influence in the regional energy market. Turkey already hosts a portion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. Europe is looking at the country to play a major role in the planned Nabucco pipeline in an effort to ease its dependency on Russian natural resources.

"Turkey and Europe need Iran" for these planned developments, said Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler.

India to get oil from BTC pipeline

Turkey said it plans to help India meet its looming energy crisis by supplying oil through an extension of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, officials said.

India has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and is struggling to keep pace with its domestic energy demands. It has moved with the United States, and most recently with Japan, to develop a civilian nuclear energy program by 2020.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed an agreement during a weekend visit to India to transport oil reserves through the BTC pipeline, the Turkish news agency Today's Zaman reported.

"It is highly important for Turkey and India, two great powers and economies in their region, to cooperate in order to get through the global economic crisis and to turn the crisis into an opportunity," the Turkish premier said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan laid the foundation for oil exports to India during a February visit. Erdogan said the plans solidified the historical partnership between both countries, which will create unique regional economic prospects.

"If these goals are reached, the crisis will turn into opportunities for countries," Erdogan said. "The businessmen of Turkey and India have a great responsibility to cooperate with each other in economic matters."

Transports through BTC, the second-longest pipeline in the world with roughly 1 percent of the world's oil, were disrupted during the summer in part due to the conflict between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway republic of South Ossetia.

South Stream pipeline talks positive

Russian and Serbian officials are set to sign bilateral agreements that set the preliminary groundwork for the South Stream natural gas pipeline.

The South Stream natural gas pipeline is a planned resource artery from Russia to Italy. It will replace a proposed extension of the 754-mile Blue Stream pipeline through the Balkans.

Russia signed onto an agreement with Bulgaria to move on the South Stream pipeline in January 2008. Russia and Serbia also signed a deal whereby Russian gas monopoly Gazprom acquires a 51 percent share in the national Petroleum Industry of Serbia, known by its Serbian acronym, NIS. Both sides plan to discuss portions of the deal later this week, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Discussions will focus on the formulation of the corporate board of directors. The initial deal was slated for around $636 million, though Serbia is looking to double that amount based on planned upgrades to its infrastructure.

The upgrades will allow Serbia to bring fuel oil up to standards established by the European Union, making products derived from South Stream more attractive to European markets.

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(e-mail: energy@upi.com)