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EU ready to fund Caspian gas delivery projects to Europe: EU commissioner for energy

Oil&Gas Materials 15 September 2009 12:25 (UTC +04:00)
The European Union stands ready to fund projects to deliver gas from the Caspian region to Europe, EU Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs said at a joint news conference with Rovnag Abdullayev, the president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).

Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 15 / Trend , S.Aliyev/

The European Union stands ready to fund projects to deliver gas from the Caspian region to Europe, EU Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs said at a joint news conference with Rovnag Abdullayev, the president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).

He said the EU's readiness also applies to the Nabucco project, to which funds are allocated as a grant from the European Commission, as well as a loan from the European Investment Bank.

"We have discussed mainly commercial matters [the gas delivery from the Caspian Sea to Europe]," said Piebalgs.

Head of SOCAR, Abdullayev also said that at present, mainly commercial issues are under discussions as part of the Nabucco pipeline project.

The Nabucco project worth 7.9 billion euro will deliver Azerbaijani and Central Asian gas to the EU. Construction of the pipeline is expected to begin in 2011 and the first supplies - in 2014. Its maximum capacity will be 31 billion cubic meters per year.

Nabucco shareholders are the Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE with 16.67 percent each. The Nabucco Gas Pipeline International will invest 30 percent of the project on basis of its share. The remaining 70 percent will be provided by international institutions.

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