Azerbaijan, Baku, September 16 / Trend E. Ismayilov /
Other sources of natural gas in Azerbaijan can be used for the Nabucco gas pipeline project, besides gas from the Shah Deniz gas condensate field in Azerbaijan's sector of the Caspian Sea, OMV Gas and Power executive board member Werner Auli said in Baku today.
He said that roughly 16 billion cubic meters of gas are planned to be extracted annually from the Shah Deniz field. Roughly 8 billion cubic meters could be delivered through Nabucco. About $25 billion is required to develop the field. Auli said that a part of gas can be sourced from other sources in Azerbaijan.
Work is currently being conducted on other sources of gas for Nabucco, in particular with Turkmenistan and Iraq, Auli said. OMV is a member of a major gas project in Iraq. However, stabilization of the political situation in Iraq is required.
He said that Iraq is ready to supply 15 billion cubic meters of gas for Nabucco. "But I am not sure that we will be able to use these volumes in the near future," Auli said.
He said that it is estimated that about 50 percent of the volumes in Nabucco may be given for gas pumping of third parties. However, if participants of the consortium do not use their volumes in the gas pipeline fully, the volumes for third parties may exceed 50 percent.
Europe needs implementation of new pipeline projects because there is a significant drop in domestic gas production and a growth in imported gas. Russia has a leading role in this process but European gas supply must be diversified.
Despite the decline in gas production in Europe, available reserves of shale gas may be used. But about 20 years will be required to begin gas production from these deposits because of their depth. Therefore, Auli said, Nabucco can be used to meet growing gas demand in Europe.
Nabucco gas pipeline project is worth €7.9 billion. Construction of gas pipeline is planned to be launched in 2011, the first supplies - in 2015. 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.
Nabucco participants are the Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE. Each has an equal 16.67-percent share.