Gazprom Ready to Join Nabucco

Business | February 12, 2008, Tuesday // 00:00
Gazprom Ready to Join Nabucco The Nabucco gas transit pipeline is expected to ease Russian energy hold on the EU by delivering Caspian and Middle Eastern gas via Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania.

The speaker of the Russian energy monopoly Gazprom Sergey Kuprianov announced before the Moscow Echo Radio Monday that the company was ready to look at any proposals for joining the EU-sponsored Nabucco gas transit pipeline.

Gazprom might join Nabucco by signing a contract with a provider who uses a certain capacity of the gas pipeline. The procedure for negotiating the deliveries with potential gas providers was to start in 2008, announced the Austrian company OMV, which is one of the six partner companies in the Nabucco project.

The planned pipeline will deliver gas from the Caspian region (Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan), as well as from the Shah Deniz deposit in Egypt, and from any existing pipelines such as the Blue Stream pipeline already realized by Gazprom and the Turkish company Botash.

Meanwhile, the EU coordinator of the Nabucco project Jozias van Aartsen is going to visit Turkey's capital Ankara on Thursday in order to urge Turkish PM ErdoДџan to boost Turkey's commitment for the pipeline project. Aartsen hinted that Ankara's support for Nabucco would be reflected in its EU perspectives.

Turkey has declared its commitment to Nabucco on many occasions, and the Turkish gas company Botash is one of the six members of the consortium. However, doubts have been fuelled by the Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler's statement that Nabucco was not the only option for his country.

Another reason for concern with respect to the EU-sponsored pipeline project which aims to ease Russia's energy monopoly by diversifying the gas supplies is whether one of the key suppliers Azerbaijan would be able to provide enough gas at least in the initial phase after 2013.

The US Ambassador in Bulgaria John Beyrle announced that the first contracts with Azerbaijani suppliers have already been signed.

During President Putin's visit to Sofia in January Bulgaria signed agreement with Russia to participate in the Russian alternative to Nabucco, the South Stream pipeline.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!

Business » Be a reporter: Write and send your article

Advertisement
Advertisement
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria