DM Monitoring
Baku: Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on joint exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources of the Dostlug (Friendship) field in the Caspian Sea.
The agreement on the joint exploration of the once-disputed section of the undersea hydrocarbons field was signed in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meredov.
A meeting through video conferencing was held between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov in connection with the signing of the agreement.
“This document, which is the result of many years of work between our countries, is aimed at strengthening cooperation and mutual understanding in the field of energy, unlocking the joint potential of the two largest energy states, creating the most favorable conditions for sustainable energy, and further reinforcing our mutually beneficial and international partnership,” Berdymukhamedov said in remarks carried by the Anadolu Agency (AA).
The two leaders congratulated each other for reaching an agreement, calling it a “historic day” in the relations between the two countries.
“I would call today’s document historic because Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are starting joint work on the development of a field in the Caspian Sea for the first time, and this field and work on the field will bring our countries and peoples even closer together and benefit both the Turkmen and Azerbaijani peoples,” Aliyev said.
Dostlug means “friendship” in the Turkic languages of both countries, as well as in modern Turkish. The hydrocarbons field was formerly known as Serdar to Turkmenistan and Kapaz to Azerbaijan. The agreement is expected to support progress on the Trans-Caspian pipeline, a multi-billion dollar plan to link Turkmenistan’s giant gas fields to Europe via Azerbaijan.
The link has been held up by geopolitics and a lack of commercial backing, although a landmark deal on the status of the Caspian Sea signed by Caspian littoral states Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Russia in 2018 was viewed as a positive step.
Robert Cutler, director of the Energy Security program at the NATO Association of Canada, said the Dostlug agreement “clears the last obstacle” to the Trans-Caspian pipeline.
“The gas exists, the valve is off, (Turkmenistan) is just waiting to turn the gas on,” Cutler told Agence France-Presse (AFP), adding that the project did not require a “commercial champion” to build the pipeline.
