[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 21 (Monday, May 25, 1998)]
[Pages 922-923]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
United States/European Union Statement on Caspian Energy

May 18, 1998

    The United States and the European Union recognize the importance of 
Caspian Basin oil and gas resources in contributing to the economic 
prosperity, energy security, and stability of the region.
    These resources will be an important addition to world oil and gas 
supplies and require secure access routes to world markets.
    Essential to this development will be the early availability of 
multiple pipelines. Major export pipelines from the Caspian will 
accordingly contribute to the secure delivery of an important new source 
of world energy supplies.
    The European Union's INOGATE program is designed to promote the 
security of energy supplies. It includes work on: revitalization of the 
existing transmission network and on new oil and gas pipelines across 
the Caspian, Black Sea region and westwards to Europe; urgent renovation 
of hazardous infrastructure; strengthening regional cooperation; 
compliance with international standards; reform of the region's energy 
sectors; and protection of foreign investments. The European Union's 
TRACECA project supports the development of an east-west transport and 
trade corridor from Central Asia, across the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus, 
and the Black Sea, to Europe.
    The United States strongly endorses commercially and environmentally 
sound projects to develop Caspian energy resources

[[Page 923]]

and their transport to international markets. U.S. technical assistance 
and training programs are helping many of the Caspian states improve 
their legal regimes to encourage private investment in energy 
development and transport. The United States underscores that the 
Caspian Pipeline Consortium project is a critical component of a 
commercially driven multiple pipeline system for the entire region. The 
United States has provided a grant to Turkmenistan to complete a 
feasibility study for a trans-Caspian gas pipeline.
    Commercial considerations will first and foremost determine 
decisions on the development of energy projects and export routes. It is 
the private sector that will make the investments and take the risks. 
Projects therefore need to be economically viable and competitive. They 
must also meet the highest environmental standards.
    The United States and the European Union welcome the progress made 
by the littoral states towards formulating a legal regime for the 
Caspian that will enhance rapid development of the region's energy 
resources. They express the hope that the littoral states will reach 
early agreement.

Note: This statement was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on May 18 but was not issued as a White House press release. 
An original was not available for verification of the content of this 
statement.