Turkey's prime minister said on Wednesday that support agreements on Nabucco project would be signed in October, Anadolu Agency reported.
Speaking at the opening of the "2nd Black Sea Energy & Economy Forum" in Istanbul, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recalled that the inter-governmental agreement on Nabucco Project had been signed in July 2009.
"We are planning to sign the support agreements of the project in October. This pipeline project, which will have an annual capacity of 31 billion cubicmeters, is also supported by the European Commission. However, we are waiting for its implementation," Erdogan said.
Erdogan noted that talks also continued on the extension of the Arab Gas Pipeline, whose final destination would be Europe, to Turkey.
"We believe natural gas, together with petroleum, is an important resource that will contribute to Iraq's restructuring process and prosperity. Therefore, we think that the Iraqi government should start considering natural gas as an export product as soon as possible in order to meet Europe's growing demand," the Turkish premier said.
Erdogan said that facilities in Turkey's southern Ceyhan region constituted a great potential for the Iraqi gas, adding such gas could be transported to European and world markets from Ceyhan.
Noting that Turkey's Straits were no more capable to carry the Russian and Caspian oil, Erdogan said, "This is a great threat for Turkey. Therefore, we attach great importance to projects that will ease the load over the Straits, particularly the Samsun-Ceyhan project".
Erdogan also noted that Turkey's strong economy and geo-strategic position as an energy bridge would soon make it a major global actor in energy.
Pointing to such strategic position's important role in the country's EU vision, Erdogan also said, "Unfortunately, those who make Turkey's EU membership a matter of discussion are not far-sighted enough".