Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, March 18 / Trend H. Hasanov /
The possibility of sending Turkmen gas supplies to Bulgaria was discussed at a Turkmen-Bulgarian intergovernmental economic cooperation commission meeting that is underway in Sofia on March 16-19, Bulgarian media outlets reported on Friday.
According to the information, the issue of how to implement the Nabucco gas pipeline project to diversify raw material sources for Europe was raised at the meeting.
Bulgarian companies offered their services in hydrocarbon resource exploration, development and transportation, as well as establishing the pipeline infrastructure.
Nabucco aims to diversify sources and gas supply routes to European countries. Construction is planned to start in 2012, with the first supplies beginning in 2015. Maximum capacity of the pipeline with length of 3,300 km will hit 31 billion cubic meters. Nabucco participants are the Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE.
Azerbaijan and Iraq are considered to be the main gas suppliers in the project's first phase. About 8-10 and 8 billion cubic meters are expected to be received. Subsequently, it is planned to use Turkmen gas in the project.
Bulgarian sources also report that the governments of Turkmenistan and Bulgaria have signed an agreement on cooperation in the agricultural industry at the meeting in Sofia.