Germany, Berlin / corr Trend V.Sharifov / The construction of the Nabucco pipeline is expedient for ensuring the increasing demand of gas in European Union countries, Hans Deter Lukas, special official of the Germany Foreign Ministry for East Europe, Central Asia and Caucasus, said in reply to a Trend Correspondent's question.
"The [German] Government can provide political preconditions for the construction of energy routes," he said.
He noted the importance of the participation of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in gas deliveries via the Nabucco pipeline for the EU.
" Azerbaijan has gas, but it will not be sufficient for [growing] demand of the EU. Iran also has gas, but there are political issues," Lukas said.
Nabucco will be used for gas delivery from Azerbaijan and Central Asia to EU countries. Gas can be supplied from Central Asia to Nabucco via the TransCaspian gas pipeline, which will be built via Caspian ground.
"Now the EU [specialists] are developing a feasibility study for the construction of the TransCaspian gas pipeline. We will see what it will cost," he said.
The TransCaspian gas pipeline can be extended to Azerbaijan, where gas reserves may reach 6trln cu m, from the Caspian coast to Kazakhstan or Turkmenistan.
"The EU and Turkmenistan [entered] a new stage of cooperation. Now Turkmenistan needs to develop power engineering, agriculture and education," Lukas said.
The TransCaspian gas pipeline will become the Caspian a rival project to the Caspian gas pipeline, which can be built from Turkmenistan to Russia via the territory of Kazakhstan.
"The TransCaspian gas pipeline is not directed against Russia. Germany purchases almost 40% of hydrocarbons from Russia. However, it does not mean the lack of interest towards diversifying hydrocarbon routes," he said.
OMV is the operator of Nabucco with a 20% share. With a length of 4,000km, the Nabucco gas pipeline will ensure gas delivery via the Mediterranean and Caspian Sea to Europe via Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tbilisi, Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Austria. Operation of the gas pipeline will commence in 2011. The project is estimated at €5bln. Nabucco is being developed by companies of OMV, MOL ( Hungary), Botas ( Turkey), Bulgargaz ( Bulgaria) and Transgaz ( Romania).