Azerbaijan , Baku, Feb. 23 / Trend A.Badalova /
The consortium of the Nabucco project designed to transport gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East to the EU countries evaluates the cost of the pipeline, Nabucco project official representative Christian Dolezal said.
"The investment costs of 7.9 billion euro are based on the feasibility study," Dolezal wrote Trend in an e-mail.
He said the consortium is currently evaluating these costs and it will report the results after getting all information of detailed engineering.
"Any other figures released in the meantime are speculations and not accurate", - Dolezal said.
Foreign media reported citing the BP assessment that the Nabucco pipeline may cost 14 billion euros ($19 billion). The cost would increase partly because of "soaring commodity prices".
Earlier, Managing Director of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International Reinhard Mitschek said that the estimated costs of the pipeline are likely to be revised upwards to reflect the increased length. Mitschek said with international tension surrounding Iran's controversial nuclear programme, the Nabucco consortium had decided to divert a planned stretch of the pipeline from the Islamic republic to Iraq instead, and that will add a further 550 kilometres, meaning it will measure 3,900 kilometres in total (instead of 3300 kilometres).
The European Commission energy spokesperson Marlene Holzner told Trend that even in case of a rise in the cost of the Nabucco pipeline project, the European Commission will continue to support it, because its implementation will provide it with a direct access to the gas in the Caspian region.
Construction of the Nabucco pipeline is scheduled to start in 2012 and the first supplies to be commissioned in 2015. The project's participants include the Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE.