Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.23 / Trend /
The Nabucco shareholders agreed on a modification of the feeder line concept this week at a meeting in Ankara. Two feeder lines were approved and the respective engineering works were ordered.
The feeder lines will run to the Turkish-Georgian and Turkish-Iraqi borders. The planned route will offer a broad range of supply sources for the Nabucco gas pipeline, which will receive gas from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iraq.
According to Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, the consortium spearheading the project, a third feeder line to the Turkish-Iranian border has not yet been planned due to the current political situation.
"Nabucco is a multi-sourcing project and as such will not rely on a single source or a single supplier," the consortium said. "The Caspian region and the Middle East are among the world's richest gas regions and have a large potential for gas exports to Europe. These regions will therefore play a crucial role both in supply diversification and security."
The Nabucco gas pipeline is worth 7.9 billion euro. Participants are the Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE. Each participant has an equal 16.67-percent share. Construction is planned to launch in 2011, with first supplies commencing in 2014. Its maximum capacity will hit 31 billion cubic meters per year. The Nabucco Gas Pipeline International will invest 30 percent of the project's total cost. The remaining 70 percent will be paid by loans.
The Nabucco shareholders are the Bulgarian Energy Holding (Bulgaria), Botas (Turkey), MOL (Hungary), OMV (Austria), RWE (Germany) and Transgaz (Romania).