Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend S.Aliyev, V.Sharifov / Azerbaijan may consider the opportunities for purchasing a share in the Nabucco gas pipeline project, a senior official of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) said on 20 September.
OMV is the operator of the Nabucco project with 20% share participation. The Nabucco gas pipeline, with a length of 4,000km, will ensure gas delivery via the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas to Europe via Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Austria. The gas pipeline's operation will commence in 2011. The project is estimated at €5bln. Nabucco is being developed by Botas ( Turkey), Bulgargaz ( Bulgaria) and Transgaz ( Romania).
Azerbaijan's participation in the project will depend on the commercial terms of the pipeline competing with Nabucco," SOCAR official said.
An agreement on the construction of the Nabucco gas pipeline was signed on 25 June 2007. The document was undersigned by Andreas Piebalgs, the European Commissioner on Energy and the Energy Ministers of Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Austria.
" Azerbaijan will make a decision. The country, however, prefers the cheaper, more reliable and most profitable route to sell its gas," he said.
Azerbaijan intends to deliver Shah Deniz gas via the Nabucco pipeline. The gas is expected to reach third-party countries.