Azernews.Az

VIENNA – Nabucco shareholders have decided to build two feeder lines for the 7.9 billion euro gas pipeline project to Turkey's borders with Georgia and Iraq, but have opted against a link to Iran due to the political situation, they said in a statement on Monday.

The EU-backed project, planned for start-up in 2014, plans to transport up to 31 billion cubic metres of gas a year from the Caspian region to an Austrian gas hub via Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Hungary and reduce Europe's reliance on Russian gas.

"Two feeder lines were confirmed and the respective engineering works were ordered," the Vienna-based consortium said, referring to the lines to Turkey's borders with Iraq and Georgia.

"But due to the current political situation, Nabucco...is not planning a third one to the Turkish-Iranian border so far."

Iran was hit by a fourth round of United Nations sanctions in June over its nuclear programme, followed by additional harsher measures from the United States and EU restricting its international business activities.

Some analysts say Nabucco cannot fill total capacity without supplies from Iran, which has the world's second-biggest reserves, but Nabucco says sources from Turkmenistan, Iraq and Azerbaijan are plentiful. It has yet to sign a binding supply agreement.

Nabucco has said it will not rule out any source for the future. Its shareholders are Germany's RWE, Austria's OMV, Hungary's MOL, Romania's Transgaz, Bulgaria's Bulgargaz and Turkey's Botas.

Shareholder OMV said earlier this month the final investment decision for pipeline will be made in the first quarter of next year at the very latest after it has determined demand in an open season process, probably in the fourth quarter of 2010.