Azernews.Az

The bid of French energy firm Gaz de France to become the seventh shareholder in the project on building the NABUCCO pipeline to pump gas from the resource-rich Caspian and Central Asia regions to Europe has been rejected, reports say.
The company has confirmed the report but did not give any details.
But the NABUCCO project's press-service said Gaz de France could still become a shareholder and the issue was under discussion. However, the company may acquire a share in the project only after the conduit is built.
Six shareholders – German RWÅ, Turkish Botas, Romanian Transgas, Bulgarian Bulgargas, Austrian OMV, and Hungarian MOL - currently hold equal 16.67% stakes in the project consortium. Only Azerbaijan has pledged to export its gas via the pipe so far. The United States and Europe are striving to secure gas supplies from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan as well.
Ankara is opposed to the participation of Gaz de France in the NABUCCO project due to Paris's opposition to Turkey's EU membership bid and its stance on the alleged "Armenian genocide".
The West-backed project aims to deliver 30 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe through a 3,300-kilometer pipeline from Turkey via Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary to Austria.
Building the conduit could take until 2012, while transportation of first gas is expected in 2013.
The 7.9 billion euro pipeline is a more cost-efficient way of transporting gas from Azerbaijan to Europe than the rival South Stream pipeline project of Russian monopoly Gazprom, analysts say.