Nabucco is most strategic project to open Southern Gas Corridor: CEO
By Aynur Jafarova
The statement of support from the presidents of Nabucco gas pipeline transit countries demonstrates that Nabucco is the most strategic project to open the Southern Gas Corridor, CEO of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International Reinhard Mitschek said in a statement released by the consortium on June 19.
Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH welcomed the declaration of Austrian, Bulgarian, Hungarian and Romanian presidents' support that was the focus of a letter sent to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev last week. The letter was further supported by Turkey, as referenced by Austrian President Heinz Fischer.
"The political support, along with the strong interest in the Nabucco Open Season for capacity booking, shows that there is considerable demand for Caspian gas transported via Nabucco. The support of Turkey, as an important transit partner for Caspian gas to Europe, is a key advantage," Mitschek said.
He also expressed the confidence that the unparalleled market access that Nabucco provides to the countries of Central Europe and also of South Eastern Europe and the Balkans, ensures that gas from Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field will arrive in Europe via Nabucco.
According to the report of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH, an important advantage of Nabucco, as the Austrian President highlighted at a recent conference, is Nabucco's ability to truly diversify the energy supply for Central and Eastern Europe, which is largely dependent on Russian imports.
The report stressed that Romanian President Traian Basescu also stated that Nabucco will benefit not only the countries in which the pipeline transits, but also other countries including Poland. "Unlike other options, Nabucco will transport Caspian gas into the strategic gas hub in Baumgarten, Austria where it will then benefit the wider European market," the report said.
The consortium developing the Shah Deniz field is considering both Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and Nabucco West for gas export. The consortium will make its final decision on the pipeline route in June and a final investment decision by October 2013.
Nabucco West, a short-cut version of the Nabucco project, which envisages construction of a pipeline from the Turkish-Bulgarian border to Austria, and TAP are part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the EU's priority energy projects. The Southern Gas Corridor aims at diversifying the routes and sources of energy supply, thereby increasing secure delivery.
The TAP project is designed to transport gas from the Caspian region via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further into western Europe. TAP's initial capacity will be 10 billion cubic meters per year, but it is easily expandable to 20 billion cubic meters.