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RWE: Iran Not A Possible Nabucco Partner, Supplier

RWE AG (RWE.XE) doesn't consider Iran as a potential seventh partner in the Nabucco pipeline consortium nor as a possible supplier of natural gas, a company spokesman said Monday.
dj
Δευ, 2 Νοεμβρίου 2009 - 18:58
RWE AG (RWE.XE) doesn't consider Iran as a potential seventh partner in the Nabucco pipeline consortium nor as a possible supplier of natural gas, a company spokesman said Monday.

"We're not in talks with Iran and don't have any plans to buy gas from Iran," said a spokesman for the company's midstream and trading unit RWE Supply & Trading.

He said RWE doesn't see Iran as a potential seventh partner in the Nabucco pipeline, citing political tensions over Iran's nuclear program and the fact that the country remains a net importer of natural gas in the foreseeable future.

RWE has repeatedly said Nabucco will initially be supplied with gas from Azerbaijan, Iraq and Turkmenistan.

The company was reacting to statements Saturday by the managing director of the National Iranian Gas Export Co. that said "unofficial negotiations between some European companies and Iran on the (Nabucco) pipeline have begun." He didn't name any country or company.

A spokesperson for the Nabucco consortium declined to comment.

The comments came after Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, vowed last week to support an Iranian bid to join the Nabucco pipeline. The pledge--made during Erdogan's visit to Tehran--was followed by a memorandum of understanding to export Iranian natural gas to Europe through Turkey.

The 3,300-kilometer Nabucco pipeline aims to carry natural gas from Central Asia via Turkey and the Balkan states to Austria, bypassing Russia and Ukraine.

In July, Turkey and four EU countries--Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria--agreed to allow the pipeline to cross their territories. Iran wants to provide gas but Europe is reluctant to rely on the Islamic republic until tensions with the West over its nuclear program have been resolved.

Apart from RWE, the Nabucco consortium consists of Austria's OMV AG (OMV.VI), Turkey's Botas, Bulgaria's Bulgarian Energy Holding, Romania's Transgaz and Hungary's MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU).

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