Turkmenistan begins pipeline construction

Turkmenistan has started constructing the 320 km long east-west gas pipeline with three compressors stations. The pipe will transport Turkmen gas towards the Caspian Sea, then to Azerbaijan through the trans-Caspian pipeline across the Caspian Sea bed. Eventually it will be connected to the Baku-Tbilisi-Arzerum gas pipeline and will supply the NABUCCO project. However there are still some issues regarding these plans, as there has been no final decision over the status and division of the Caspian Sea status; despite this Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan remain optimistic about the viability of the project.