A BP PLC (BP) led consortium working on Azerbaijan 's Shah Deniz natural gas field said Tuesday it will evaluate a new proposal by the U.K. oil major to feed Europe with Caspian natural gas through an alternative pipeline project.

"While this option is not advanced yet it could be seen as a possible export solution," a BP spokesperson told Dow Jones Newswires. "A fourth potential export option will be evaluated."

A project proposed by BP on Tuesday--called South East Europe Pipeline--would link a major Azerbaijan gas field to a gas hub in Austria , running from western Turkey across Bulgaria and Romania to Hungary 's border, a similar route to that of the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline.

BP operates Azerbaijan 's main natural gas field, Shah Deniz.

News of the BP proposal comes just ahead of an Oct. 1 deadline for three competing pipeline projects, including Nabucco, to present a detailed transportation offer to the Shah Deniz consortium. The consortium is expected to make a final decision by the end of the year.

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