Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan "needs time" to pass a decision on joining the Nabucco pipeline project that will take Caspian gas to Europe and "the European Union understands that", head of the EU delegation to the country, Roland Kobia, has said.

Kobia was commenting on the recent statement by the head of the state energy firm Socar, Rovnag Abdullayev, that Azerbaijan could export its gas to European markets by routes other than the Nabucco pipeline that "offer better terms".

The EU official said that the statement did not reflect Baku’s final decision on the issue.

"We are at a stage when all cards are on the table and we know well that Azerbaijan needs time to make a decision," Kobia told a news conference Thursday.

"The Nabucco project is important not only for us but also for Azerbaijan."

The 3,300-kilometer Nabucco pipeline will carry up to 31 billion cubic meters a year of gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East across Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey into southeast Europe and onwards to an Austrian trading hub, bypassing Russia. According to the pipeline consortium, construction is due to start in 2013 and operations in 2017. Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iraq are potential suppliers for the Nabucco pipeline.

Kobia said Azerbaijan has sources of gas other than Shahdaniz, the country’s largest gas field in the Caspian Sea. "To export these resources, a broader pipeline infrastructure is required, and Europe is offering that."

According to projections, production will be brought up to 25 billion cubic meters per year under the second stage of Shahdaniz development, which is expected to produce first gas in 2017. The Shahdaniz field holds estimated reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas. Azerbaijan’s proven gas reserves stand at 2.2 trillion cubic meters.

Kobia said the EU and Azerbaijan have close cooperation in the energy sector, adding that "we believe this cooperation will be continued".

The EU delegation head emphasized that the Nabucco project will be discussed during EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger’s visit to Baku, due June 6-7.

Oettinger is also due to attend the annual oil and gas exhibition to be held in the Azerbaijani capital next month.