Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.6 / Trend A. Badalova /
Nabucco project
Nabucco gas pipeline project, worth 7.9 billion euro, will transport gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East to the EU. Construction of gas pipeline is expected to be launched in 2012, with the first deliveries scheduled for 2015. Maximum capacity of the pipeline will hit 31 billion cubic meters per year.
Project participants are the Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE, with each participant having an equal share of 16.67 percent.
Plans for 2011:
- Signing gas supply contracts within the project.
Azerbaijan and Iraq, which are expected to supply 8-10 billion and 8 billion cubic meters of gas respectively, are considered the main fuel suppliers in the first phase of the project.
- Making a final investment decision on the project.
Making a final investment decision on the Nabucco project is expected after the signing of contracts for gas supply, which, in turn, is expected in mid-2011.
- Conducting open season process
The process of "open season" envisages sale of Nabucco gas pipeline's capacity. During this procedure, the shareholders of the project will receive a capacity of 15 billion cubic meters of gas per year, equaling 50 percent of the total transport capacity of the pipeline, while the remaining 50 percent will be offered to third parties on an equal footing.
- Getting commitments to issue loans.
In Sept. 2010, the international financial institutions began the process of determining the cost of the project, which is a necessary step to provide a financing package of up to 4 billion euro. The potential funding package of the project will consist of sums up to 2 billion euro from the European Investment Bank, 1.2 billion euro from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and up to 800 million euros from the International Finance Corporation.
ITGI Gas Pipeline (Turkey-Greece-Italy)
The ITGI gas pipeline with capacity of 11.8 billion cubic meters a year envisages supply of gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East to the EU. The pipeline is expected to be commissioned in 2015.
Plans for 2011:
- Starting the construction of Greece-Italy pipeline and purchasing materials and equipment necessary for it.
Greece-Italy pipeline, known as Poseidon, is the missing link of the Turkey-Greece-Italy transport corridor. Capacity of the planned undersea pipeline Poseidon is 8-10 billion cubic meters of gas a year. The pipeline with a length of 212 kilometers will stretch through the bottom of the Adriatic Sea from the Greek Stavrolimenasa to Italian Otranto.
The construction of the Poseidon pipeline will last four years.
White Stream pipeline
The White Stream pipeline project with an initial capacity of 8 billion cubic meters per year envisages transporting the Azerbaijani gas across the Black Sea from the Georgian Port of Supsa to the Romanian Port of Constanta and onward to other EU countries. Implementation of the project consists of several stages, the first of which envisages the construction of an underwater pipeline from Georgia to Romania, which will be built via the Black Sea. The total length of the pipeline will be 1,100 km via the sea. The pipeline will pass at a depth of 200 meters.
Plans for 2011:
- Conducting a study of the marine part of the gas pipeline route and the environmental impact assessment (EIA).
TAPI Gas Pipeline (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India)
The TAPI pipeline will stretch for 1,735 kilometers from the major Dovletabad field in eastern Turkmenistan, passing through Herat and Kandahar provinces in Afghanistan, Quetta District in Pakistan and reach Fazilk settlement in India on the Pakistan-Indian border. The construction of the pipeline will be completed by late 2014, with a design capacity of transporting 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.
Plans for 2011:
- Signing of agreements for Turkmen gas sale within the project.
- The parties interested in the implementation of project agreed to sign gas sale contracts no later than April 30, 2011.