2010, NABUCCO's year

NABUCCO Executive Director Reinhard Mitschek has stated that 2010 will be the year of NABUCCO. He is very optimistic about this project and says so openly.

Mitschek thinks that natural gas consumption in Europe is increasing and this level of need will ensure the successful implementation of NABUCCO. He states that NABUCCO is not a substitute for Russian gas but an alternative resource for satisfying European needs. Russia however regards any attempt to provide alternative gas supplies to Europe as an act against Russia's interests.

NABUCCO faces some difficulties, principally in where its gas will come from and how the project will be paid for. However on July 13, 2009 a treaty was concluded in Ankara by Turkey, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary which should lead to construction beginning in 2011.

The project envisages transporting natural gas from the Caspian region and Central Asia to Europe via Turkey and Georgia. The estimated initial cost of the project is EUR 7.9 billion and it should pump 31 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually.