Nabucco consortium to sign gas supply agreement with Azerbaijan by late 2010

The Nabucco gas pipeline consortium intends to sign agreements with gas suppliers for the pipeline, including Azerbaijan, by late 2010, managing director of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International Reinhard Mitschek said, Trend reports.
He said negotiations with financial institutions to finance this project are underway. The final investment decision on the project is expected to be taken in mid 2011 and construction begun by late 2011.
Mitschek said there is enough gas to fill the pipeline, particularly in the Caspian region. "If the countries of the region try, they could fill the pipeline with gas," Mitschek said.
Regarding the possibility of Azerbaijan's participation in the project as a shareholder, Mitschek noted that there are no negotiations on this subject. However, he did not rule out the possibility.
The first phase will deal with 10-15 billion cubic meters of gas to move towards fulfilling the design capacity of 31 billion cubic meters. 
The Nabucco gas pipeline project is worth 7.9 billion euros. Participants in the project are the Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE companies. Each of the participants has an equal share of 16.67 percent. Construction of the gas pipeline is planned to be launched in 2011 and the first supplies to appear in 2014.
The maximum capacity of the pipeline will hit 31 billion cubic meters per year. Nabucco Gas Pipeline International shareholders will invest 30 percent of the total cost of the project, the other 70 percent will be paid through loans.