Nabucco benefits left to negotiate: EU official
European Union Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs
has said political issues of the Nabucco pipeline seeking to supply
Europe with mainly Central Asian gas have been resolved, and a key
conference that has brought the world`s energy executives to Baku
``was a good chance`` for companies to negotiate the remaining
commercial matters.
Piebalgs said further that Azerbaijan could also supply fuel for the pipeline to be produced in the coming years during Phase 2 of developing Shahdaniz, the country`s largest gas field in the Caspian Sea.
The EU commissioner and the president of Azerbaijan`s state energy firm SOCAR, Rovnag Abdullayev, have discussed the issue during their meeting held on the sidelines of the Gas Infrastructure World Caspian-2009 conference, which started in the Azerbaijani capital on Tuesday.
``The EU will buy gas from Azerbaijan, that`s obvious. But risks should be reduced first, and this has to be beneficial for all sides involved,`` Piebalgs said.
Abdullayev said Azerbaijan`s options were versatile, adding that the resource-rich South Caucasus republic was still reviewing buyers` proposals.
``We are working not only on Nabucco, but also on other projects. We are also discussing projects on the Turkey, Greece and Italy routes.
``As you know, investments worth $22 billion are required to implement the Shahdaniz 2 project, and, to materialize these investments, SOCAR and its partners will carry out marketing and transit of gas for the most lucrative prices.``
Earlier, Azerbaijan signed an agreement with Russia on selling its gas from 2010. President Ilham Aliyev told Russian Vesti TV channel that the country might export gas produced during Phase 2 to the northern neighbor.
The SOCAR president told the gas conference that politicizing economic projects was inappropriate.
The EU is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian gas by realizing the Nabucco project, which seeks to deliver about 30 billion cubic meters of gas to European markets through a 3,300-kilometer pipeline crossing the territories of Azerbaijan and Turkey to Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria.
Kamalya Mustafayeva, a reporter for the Caspian region of the Oslo-based Upstream newspaper, says that, though Azerbaijani officials have suggested refraining from politicizing the issue, politics will come into play nonetheless.
``In any case, Azerbaijan will be selling gas to Europe under several projects it is offered, as SOCAR`s key goal is also to diversify sources of gas,`` Mustafayeva said.
Piebalgs said further that Azerbaijan could also supply fuel for the pipeline to be produced in the coming years during Phase 2 of developing Shahdaniz, the country`s largest gas field in the Caspian Sea.
The EU commissioner and the president of Azerbaijan`s state energy firm SOCAR, Rovnag Abdullayev, have discussed the issue during their meeting held on the sidelines of the Gas Infrastructure World Caspian-2009 conference, which started in the Azerbaijani capital on Tuesday.
``The EU will buy gas from Azerbaijan, that`s obvious. But risks should be reduced first, and this has to be beneficial for all sides involved,`` Piebalgs said.
Abdullayev said Azerbaijan`s options were versatile, adding that the resource-rich South Caucasus republic was still reviewing buyers` proposals.
``We are working not only on Nabucco, but also on other projects. We are also discussing projects on the Turkey, Greece and Italy routes.
``As you know, investments worth $22 billion are required to implement the Shahdaniz 2 project, and, to materialize these investments, SOCAR and its partners will carry out marketing and transit of gas for the most lucrative prices.``
Earlier, Azerbaijan signed an agreement with Russia on selling its gas from 2010. President Ilham Aliyev told Russian Vesti TV channel that the country might export gas produced during Phase 2 to the northern neighbor.
The SOCAR president told the gas conference that politicizing economic projects was inappropriate.
The EU is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian gas by realizing the Nabucco project, which seeks to deliver about 30 billion cubic meters of gas to European markets through a 3,300-kilometer pipeline crossing the territories of Azerbaijan and Turkey to Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria.
Kamalya Mustafayeva, a reporter for the Caspian region of the Oslo-based Upstream newspaper, says that, though Azerbaijani officials have suggested refraining from politicizing the issue, politics will come into play nonetheless.
``In any case, Azerbaijan will be selling gas to Europe under several projects it is offered, as SOCAR`s key goal is also to diversify sources of gas,`` Mustafayeva said.
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