Azernews.Az

The primary goal of Nabucco gas pipeline project, designed to transport gas from the Caspian region and Middle East to the EU, is to increase liquidity and diversification in the European energy market, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH Managing Director Reinhard Mitschek told United Press International.

"While geopolitical issues are certainly at play, the primary goal of Nabucco is to increase liquidity and diversification in the European energy market," Mitschek said.

He stressed that with regional natural gas demand expected to increase substantially by 2025, Nabucco is something European leaders and their allies can throw their support behind now.

Construction of the Nabucco project is planned to start in 2013 and the first supplies are scheduled for 2017. The total length of the pipeline is 3,900 kilometers with a maximum capacity of 31 billion cubic meters per year. The project's partners include the Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and the German RWE.

Gas which will be produced during the second stage of Shah Deniz field development is considered as the main source for Nabucco project. According to the Shah-Deniz-2 project, Azerbaijan plans to transport gas to Europe at a volume of 10 billion cubic meters.

On Oct. 1, Nabucco with the other pipeline projects (TAP, ITGI) submitted their final proposals to the Azerbaijani side, which will review them in accordance with the previously announced criteria. The decision on the preferable transportation route is expected to be made till the first quarter of 2012.

Mitschek said "Nabucco would link directly to suppliers in Central Asia while other programs outlined in the Southern Corridor don't".

He also added that the project's development is based on a multi-sourcing concept and is more about the commodity market than geopolitical dynamics.