US hails Turkish-Greek gas pipeline deal

An agreement to construct a 280-kilometer pipeline linking Turkish and Greek natural gas infrastructures was signed on Tuesday by Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler and Greek Development Minister Athanasios Tsohatzopoulos and representatives of state-owned pipeline company BOTAS and Greek DEPA.

"The United States congratulates the governments of Turkey and Greece for the agreement signed Dec. 23, 2003, in Ankara to build a natural gas pipeline connecting the two countries," State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said in a press release.
East-West corridor

According to the statement, the pipeline initially will deliver 500 million cubic meters of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Greece, via Turkey, beginning in 2006. Up to 11 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually is targeted for transport to Turkey, Greece and Europe in the second phase of the project.

U.S. officials and energy analysts across the world estimate that European demand for natural gas, supplied by Caspian customers, will increase significantly in the coming decades.

Boucher said the pipeline will not only be an important economic link between Turkey and Greece but also "will provide a new source of natural gas for Greece, with the prospect of connecting to markets in the heart of Europe."

"The United States supports the Turkey-Greece pipeline, an important building block of the East-West Energy Corridor. It seeks to develop alternative export pipeline routes for delivery of the Caspian region’s vast energy resources to Europe and world markets," the statement said.