Nabucco Gas Pipeline International has proposed a new Nabucco-West concept of the Shah Deniz Consortium to build a pipeline from the Turkish-Bulgarian border to Baumgarten (Austria). According to the initial concept, the 3900-kilometer pipeline was to run from the Georgian-Turkish and Iraqi-Turkish borders to Baumgarten. The pipeline is expected to be built through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria.
Alistair Cook, BP Vice President for Shah Deniz development, told the Financial Times that Nabucco-West is a much more beneficial proposal. The pipeline was planned to pump 31 billion cubic meters annually, the capacity will be halved.
Both Navucco-West and SEEP (South Eastern European Pipeline) coincide, Director of the Azerbaijani Center for Petroleum Studies Ilham Shaban told Vestnik Kavkaza.
SEEP is to be built to Hungary and then turns to Croatia. Nabucco-West runs to Austria, rather than Hungary. Both projects have the same market and marketing. The only difference is the capacity. Nabucco-West has a cap of 16 billion cubic meters, exceeding SEEP by 6 billion cubic meters, SHaban says.
President of Croatia Ivo Josipovic visited Baku and confirmed interest in Azerbaijani gas. Reinhard Mitchek, Managing Director of the Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, said that the Nabucco Consortium continue support for the original concept.
Azerbaijani Minister for Energy Natig Aliyev visited Kuwait on March 13 and said that Azerbaijan and Turkey will sign the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TANAP) agreement next week. Azerbaijan and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding in forming a consortium for TANAP to ship Azerbaijani gas from Shah Deniz to Europe through Turkey.
BP was invited to become a shareholder of TANAP and will consider it in the next several months.
