The Nabucco
Political Committee-Meeting of the Nabucco Ministers of the Transit Countries
convening in Vienna, Austria confirmed the full political support for the
Nabucco Gas Pipeline Project and for the existing Intergovernmental Agreement
giving comfort to investors and producers.
Hosted by the Austrian Energy Ministry and attended by the Energy
Commissioner Gunther Oettinger, the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and
the Energy Ministers from Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey alongside the
Nabucco shareholders, the Political Committee reiterated its full and
resounding support for the Nabucco project.
The committee confirmed further that the current legal and regulatory
framework for the Nabucco project applies under the current IGA (Inter
Governmental Agreement), PSA (Project Support Agreement) and also for the
project starting at the Bulgarian border. The meeting was attended by the
Minister of Industry and Energy of the Azerbaijan Republic, Natig Aliyev,
giving an overview on the developments from the producer’s side.
Reinhard Mitschek, Managing Director of the Nabucco Gas Pipeline International
GmbH said:
'The Political Committee re-emphasizes the political, legislative and
regulatory support enjoyed by Nabucco. This commitment is a crucial factor in
making Nabucco the most advanced pipeline project in the Southern Corridor,
highly attractive for market participants from all over Europe and Turkey, for
gas suppliers, for investors and sponsors. We are reducing risks and maximizing
a sound legal protection. We welcome this message of support, and look forward
to working with the state parties to ensure freedom of choice and energy
security for the European consumer.'
Connecting gas from the Caspian Region and the Middle East to over 500 million
potential customers in Europe, Nabucco is the flagship project in the Southern
Corridor. The Nabucco consortium continues to work closely with the Shah Deniz
II consortium and with the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and remains
confident that it offers the best solution to capture new supply sources and
bring them to the large European consumer markets.