Azerbaijan, Baku, March 12 / Trend , A. Badalova /
The consortium of Nabucco gas pipeline project, designed for gas transportation from the Caspian region and the Middle East to EU, does not rule out the joining additional gas suppliers to the project.
"We have never ruled out any gas sources", Christian Dolezal, official representative in the Nabucco project, told Trend via e-mail.
According to him, as more gas volumes are transported via the pipeline system as more competitive will be project in term of economy through unification. Dolezal said it will help reduce the costs for transporting gas via Nabucco pipeline in the future.
Head of the Italian company Eni Paolo Scaroni proposed to merge the South Stream project with the Nabucco project to reduce costs for these projects. Eni is an equal partner in South Stream with OAO Gazprom.
According Dolezal, however, today Nabucco project from commercial technical point of view is highly competitive project and does not need to change the concept.
"We are fully concentrated on the success of the project on the basis of a feasibility study, and there is no need to change its concept," he said.
He said issues of future modifications of the general concept of the pipeline should be considered and resolved by the shareholders.
The project envisages the gas transportation from the Caspian region and the Middle East to EU. Nabucco gas pipeline project is worth €7.9 billion. Participants of the project are Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE companies. Each of participants has equal share to the amount of 16.67 percent. Construction of gas pipeline is planned to be launched in 2011, the first supplies - in 2014. Maximal capacity of the pipeline will hit 31 billion cubic meters per year. Nabucco Gas Pipeline International shareholders will invest 30 percent of total cost of the project, the rest 70 percent will be paid owing to loans.
South Stream worth 25 billion euros provides for the delivery of Russian gas to South and Central Europe across the Black Sea. The project's main participants are Russia's Gazprom and Italy's ENI. The pipeline is expected to launch in 2015. Its maximum capacity will be 63 billion cubic meters per year.
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