| The US does not allow Gazprom into the Transcaucasus Tomorrow the Georgian parliament will consider the feasibility of signing an agreement on strategic cooperation in the gas sector with Gazprom. The agreement to prepare the document was reached following the visit of the head of the Russian concern Alexey Miller to Tbilisi at the end of May. Georgian legislators had to address the issue of cooperation with Gazprom due to open and severe pressure from the United States, dissatisfied with the strengthening of Russian positions in the region.
It is assumed that the agreement on strategic cooperation will provide for the reconstruction of the main gas pipeline from Russia to Armenia through the territory of Georgia, as well as the supply of Russian gas to these republics.
The US administration's special adviser on energy policy in the Caspian region, Stephen Mann, bluntly stated on Friday that from Washington's point of view, the Russian-Armenian gas pipeline is unprofitable for Georgia. He reported this directly after meeting with President Eduard Shevardnadze and receiving the Order of Honor from him in connection with the start of construction of the Georgian part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. Mr Mann said Georgia must “fully and accurately assess” the possible consequences of cooperation with Gazprom. Translated from diplomatic terms, this means that the Bush administration is seriously concerned about the concern’s activity in the most pro-American state of the CIS. The United States believes that Tbilisi's new gas obligations to Russia may complicate the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline they are lobbying for. Its commissioning is scheduled for 2005, and the cost is approximately $3 billion. Stephen Mann said that the United States is closely monitoring the negotiations between the Georgian government and Gazprom. According to him, “interests should not be infringed” in the gas transit project from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field, and efforts must be concentrated as much as possible in this direction.
It is worth noting that two days earlier, Mr. Mann warned another Transcaucasian republic, Azerbaijan, against cooperation with Russia. At the conference “Caspian Oil and Gas – 2003” held in Baku, his colleague, the special representative of the Russian President for Caspian issues Viktor Kalyuzhny, proposed studying the possible effect of connecting the Shah Deniz - Baku branch (it should become part of the Baku-Tbilisi gas pipeline -Erzurum) with the Blue Stream . Connecting the two systems would make it possible to export Azerbaijani gas to Europe through the already practically formed transport system and at the same time load Blue Stream. Mr. Kalyuzhny’s proposal was immediately rebuffed by Mr. Mann, who said: “I don’t think Azerbaijan should give up the opportunity to sell its own gas and instead strengthen Gazprom’s monopoly over the country.”
In Tbilisi, an American official continued to make similar arguments. He emphasized that it is planned to transport 15-20 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Erzurum, and if we talk about competitors, it is not about Gazprom with its “most expensive” fuel. The American diplomat was supported by the President of the Georgian International Oil Corporation, Georgy Chanturia, who said that the $200 million that Gazprom promises to invest in the reconstruction of the main gas pipeline in Georgia “does not even amount to one tenth of the amount that is provided for the implementation of the Tbilisi project.” -Baku - Erzurum." Director of the Nixon Center for International Security and US Energy Programs Zeino Barani, who also received the Order of Honor, said at a press conference in the Georgian parliament that Georgia’s betrayal of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum project could make Gazprom a monopolist and ultimately the republic could lose transit of Azerbaijani gas.
Meanwhile, there is no single position in the power echelons of Georgia. Minister of Fuel and Energy David Mirtskhulava told reporters that there is no point in dramatizing the situation. This is normal when an environment for competition is created, the minister said (it is appropriate to remember that Georgia began negotiating with Gazprom in order to narrow the influence of Itera, which is today a monopolist in gas supplies, on the local market). According to David Mirtskhulava, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum project, under which Georgia will receive 300 million cubic meters of gas for transit alone until 2015 and will be able to purchase another 500 million cubic meters at preferential tariffs, is “vitally important.” But this is not all energy security. Georgia needs more than three times more gas - 2.5 billion cubic meters. According to the minister, there should be several supply options.
David Mirtskhulava believes that in relations with Gazprom it will be possible to avoid the political component, which is so feared in Tbilisi and Washington. Firstly, he notes, all the details of the agreements will be documented. Secondly, according to him, for Gazprom, which professes management of Western standards, its own business interests are primarily important than “imperial ambitions.” There is a risk, the minister admits, but it is the alternative that reduces it - the project to transport gas from the Shah Deniz field.
Apparently, the noise that arose in the Georgian Legislative Assembly is nothing more than a tribute to political ties with Washington, and it does not mean that parliamentarians will try to prevent the signing of an agreement with Gazprom. The Chairman of the Chamber, Nino Burjanadze, having promised Stephen Mann that legislators would not jeopardize the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum project, left for a visit to the United States. And Deputy Speaker Vakhtang Rcheulishvili told the Vremya Novostei newspaper that it is time for Georgia to pay tribute not only to the East-West corridor, but also to the North-South corridor. “I regret that the Blue Stream went to the bottom of the Black Sea,” he said. “If we could come to an agreement and launch this pipeline to Turkey through Georgia, we would only benefit from this.”
Gazprom refused to comment on the statements of Mr. Mann and Georgian politicians. Apparently, they prefer not to enter into political discussions and wait “until the dust settles.” Mikhail VIGNANSKY, Tbilisi |
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