Bulgaria urges to start implementation of Nabucco with Bulgaria- Turkey pipeline

Azerbaijan, Baku, July 21 / Trend A.Badalova /

Bulgaria has suggested boosting the efforts to construct a natural gas pipeline connection between Bulgaria and Turkey, which can later become a part of the entire Nabucco pipeline, the Sofia News Agency reported.

The establishing of the Bulgaria-Turkey natural gas pipeline should become the first functioning part of the EU project for the Nabucco pipeline, Bulgaria's Economy Minister TraichoTraikov said at the meeting with representatives of the senior management of the Austrian company OMV AG, which is one of the partners in the project, and with the CEO of the international project company Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, Reinhard Mitschek.

"The realization of this pipeline link will practically turn into a start of the project which is going to provide Bulgaria and the EU as a whole with an access to the gas resources of the Caspian Region and the Middle East," Traikov said.

Nabucco gas pipeline project is worth €7.9 billion. 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.

Construction of the Nabucco pipeline will be implemented in two main phases. The first phase of construction (2011) includes laying a new pipeline length of 2,000 kilometers, starting at the Turkish border and ending in Austria's Baumgarten. The second phase (2014-2015 year) includes the construction of the remainder of the pipeline on the border between Turkey and Georgia, as well as Turkey and Iraq.

Construction of the first section of Nabucco length of 2.730 kilometers will begin in the southern part of Ankara (Turkey) and will continue in the western direction to the Bulgarian border through Central Anatolia and the Marmara Sea. 75 percent of the route will pass through existing pipelines.

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. 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.

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