Gazprom has been Turkmenistan's main export partner for the past three decades. But recent events including a pipeline explosion that Ashgabat blamed on Gazprom and pricing disagreements have prompted Turkmenistan to review its relationship with the energy giant. On July 10, Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdymukhemedov stated that his country was interested in providing gas for Nabucco and that it has the necessary reserves to do so.
As with all things Nabucco, it doesn't pay to be overly optimistic. Turkmenistan's decision to deal with RWE may simply be an attempt to improve its bargaining position with Gazprom. Regardless, it is good to see Nabucco capitalizing on th opportunity instead of squandering it.
On Monday representatives from Turkey, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania signed a transit agreement in Ankara.
The move represents a small but important step forward for the Nabucco project. Infighting over the preceding months had all but doomed the pipeline. But Azerbaijan's recent agreement with Russia forced Turkey to abandon its harsh negotiating position, effectively ending the deadlock.
What the Nabucco nations must do now is build on this momentum. Both Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have recently reaffirmed their interest in the project. It is essential that Nabucco get firm commitments from these countries within the next few months to capitalize on Gazprom's overextension.
Despite the best efforts of Russia and its allies in Europe to sink the proposed pipeline and a very lame effort by Turkey and the rest of Europe to keep it alive, somehow the Nabucco project marches on in what can best be described as a geopolitical war of attrition.
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