Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.9 / Trend E. Ismailov /
The Nabucco project consortium intends to reach an agreement with Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iraq to ensure the maximum security of supplies, Stefan Judisch, the CEO of RWE Supply & Trading, said in an interview with the Financial Times.
Participants of the7.9 billion euro project include the Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE, each having an equal 16.67 percent share.
Its construction is scheduled to start in 2012 and the first supplies to be commissioned in 2015.
"We are in intensive talks with all potential suppliers. They should tell us how much gas they can supply, and when they can make these supplies," Judisch said.
He said the consortium should obtain specific commitments on gas volumes during the first quarter of this year, so the "open season" process can begin in the second half of 2011.
The "open season" process includes putting the pipeline's capacity up for sale.
Judisch expressed confidence that the Nabucco will have the needed gas volumes from the three countries.
"We will have much more than is necessary for the infrastructure," he said.
Azerbaijan proposes an additional 5 billion cubic meters of gas from its offshore field Umid should the Trans-Caspian pipeline, with Turkmenistan supplying at least 10 billion cubic meters. All countries bordering the Caspian Sea, except Russia, have agreed that the pipeline should be built, Judisch said.