EU promotes NABUCCO project

EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has recently undertaken a tour of the countries which could possibly supply and transit natural gas from Central Asia and the Caspian region to Europe. This trip demonstrates that the EU supports NABUCCO, the proposed transit project.

EU politicians and experts are trying to find reliable supply sources for the NABUCCO pipleline and are concentrating on Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Currently Azerbaijan cannot provide natural gas for NABUCCO because its Shahdeniz field gas is already fully committed, being transported to Turkey via Georgia. By 2012, at the peak of its natural gas exploitation, Azerbaijan will provide 6.3 billion cubic metres of natural gas to Turkey, 800 million to Georgia and keep 1.5 billion for itself.

An increase in Shahdeniz field natural gas supplies is not envisaged for three years and even then this new surplus will not satisfy NABUCCO demands, Therefore Turkmenistan natural gas will be needed for this purpose. A memorandum between Turkmenistan and EU on this subject was signed last spring.

The NABUCCO project is at an advanced stage of discussion. Its prospective participants are Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria and Germany. Serious negotiations between these countries are permanently underway.