A final decision on whether to go ahead with the Nabucco gas pipeline project will be made by the end of this year, European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said Friday.
A final decision on whether to go ahead with the Nabucco gas pipeline
project will be made by the end of this year, European Union Energy
Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said Friday.
"This question has to be decided over the next nine months,"
Oettinger said. He added there is interest in the project from countries such
as
Italy
,
Bulgaria
and
Greece
, as
well from energy companies in
Austria
and
Germany
.
"The companies have to decide by the end of the year and will do it based
on an analysis of the long-term development of the gas market in the European
Union," Oettinger said.
"I think there is a chance of more infrastructure in the southern
corridor," he added, speaking on the sidelines of the official launch of
the construction of the rival Nord Stream pipeline, which will ship natural gas
from
Russia
to
Germany
under
the
Baltic Sea
. Nord Stream is led by Russian gas monopoly
Gazprom OAO (GAZP.RS).
The Nabucco gas pipeline is considered crucial to secure
Europe
's
growing demand for natural gas as domestic supply is steadily falling. The
pipeline, with a planned capacity of up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas a
year, would further diversify
Europe
's
supply sources, bypassing traditional pipeline routes for Russian gas.
The 3,300-kilometer Nabucco pipeline is slated to transport natural gas from
the Caspian region to
Central Europe
via
Turkey
and
Austria
.
The Nabucco consortium comprises
Germany
's RWE
AG (RWE.XE),
Austria
's OMV
AG (OMV.VI),
Hungary
's MOL
Nyrt (MOL.BU), Transgaz of Romania, Bulgargaz of Bulgaria and Botas of Turkey. Each
of the shareholders owns a 16.67% stake in the consortium.
The consortium has said it expects a final investment decision to be made over
the course of 2010, with construction of the pipeline expected to begin in
2011. Under the consortium's plans, gas will start flowing through the pipeline
in 2014.
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