Azerbaijan to host Turkmenistan's gas

VIENNA, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Gas transport arteries through Azerbaijan will be available for Turkmenistan to transport its natural resources to European markets, officials said Tuesday.

Azeri Energy Minister Natig Aliyev said from Vienna Tuesday his country was in a position to offer Turkmenistan the opportunity to export natural gas to Europe, the Trend Capital news agency reported.

"We have built a powerful transit corridor and are in condition to present this corridor to Turkmenistan for exploitation," he said.

Aliyev noted Europe was looking to Azerbaijan as a key energy hub as plans for the Nabucco pipeline develop. The European Union is looking to ease its dependence on Russian natural resources through the planned Nabucco pipeline from the Caspian region and Turkey.

"In the first stage of the (Nabucco) project, the Azerbaijani gas will become a significant source so that other sources could join (later)," he said, cautioning his country cannot meet European demands exclusively.

The $12.4 billion Nabucco project should go online in 2013 to bring around 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to Europe each year.