Nabucco corrects plans

The launch of Nabucco, which would connect Europe with the reserves of the Caucasus and Central Asia, has been postponed by a year, France Press cites OMV CEO Gerhardt Royce as saying. The first gas supplies will start in 2018. But construction dates have not been set.

OMV (Austria) is a partner of the Nabucco Gas Pipeline International. Other shares of the project belong to RWE (Germany), Botas (Turkey), Transgaz (Romania), Bulgargaz (Bulgaria) and MOL (Hungary).
The OMV head will visit Central Asia with Austrian President Heinz Fischer to discuss the Nabucco gas supplies and meet Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz.

Nabucco was to be launched in 2017, with construction starting in 2013. Reports in May 2011 said that construction would start in 2012, with the first gas supplies in 2015.

Fischer’s visit to the region is to clarify the process.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at a press conference with Fischer that Nabucco is one of three projects of the Southern Gas Corridor. Three European gas consortiums presented their proposals to SOCAR on October 1. The proposals were aimed at reporting on the financial state of affairs.

Aliyev underlined that they need the optimal version of the project to meet the interests of all sides. One of most suitable projects is the Southern Gas Corridor, which Azerbaijan supports and signed a contract on its realization with the EU in early 2011.

The Azerbaijani president wants gas to reach the European market via various routes.

President Fischer will have talks on the gas initiatives in Turkmenistan. Ilham Shaban, head of the Azerbaijani Center for Oil Studies, says that the visit is not a fruitful one, in terms of lobbying for the Nabucco pipeline. In an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza, the expert said that Azerbaijani will determine the best version for the Southern Gas Corridor, based on economic and commercial aspects.