Gaz de France (1020848.FR) will join the European Union's gas pipeline project Nabucco as an "associate," Romanian President Traian Basescu said Monday.
At a joint news conference with French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, Basescu said: "We've agreed that the French company Gaz de France will be associated with the Nabucco project and Romania will support its involvement."
Nabucco is a 3,300 kilometer pipeline to transport gas from the Middle East and Central Asia to its energy-hungry consumers in Europe while bypassing Russia.
Five partners currently make up the Nabucco consortium - Austria's OMV (OMV.VI), Hungary's MOL (MGYOY), Romanian Transgaz, Bulgargaz of Bulgaria and Botas of Turkey - but they have been searching for a sixth partner.
A source close to the dossier in Vienna said Friday that Germany's second biggest energy company RWE (RWE.XE), often named as favorite to take on this role, was about to join the consortium.