Azerbaijan, Baku, July 21 / Trend, A.Badalova /
The Nabucco gas pipeline project consortium has announced the success of the project's assessment by international financial institutions.
"The assessment by international financial institutions continues, and the process is successfully underway," Nabucco project official representative Christian Dolezal wrote Trend in an email.
A mandate letter has been signed by the EBRD, the European Investment Bank (EIB), IFC - a member of the World Bank Group, the shareholders of Nabucco, and Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH in September 2010. The signing marked the start of the appraisal process for the
Nabucco project, a step required for a potential financing package of up to 4 billion euro.
The potential financing package will consist of up to 2 billion euro from the EIB, up to 1.2 billion eurofrom the EBRD (up to 600 million euro for EBRD's account and up to 600 million euro to be syndicated to commercial banks) and up to around EUR 800 million from IFC (up to 400 million euro for IFC's account and up to 400 euro million to be syndicated to commercial banks).
Any final decision on the EBRD's financial participation will depend on the conclusion of a thorough due diligence process, taking into account social and environmental factors, as well as the commercial viability of the project, EBRD Press Advisor Sergey Gritsenko told Trend earlier.
Construction of Nabucco gas pipeline is planned to be launched in 2013. The pipeline's maximum capacity will reach 31 billion cubic meters per year. First supplies via the pipeline are expected in 2017.
Participants of the project are Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE companies.
Azerbaijan is considered as one of the main suppliers of gas for the project, in particular, gas produced within the second phase of the development of the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field.
The consortium on the development of this field expects concrete proposals from various pipeline projects by Oct.1, 2011, based on which transportation route will be chosen by late year.
One of the necessary criteria based on which the consortium will take decision, is the financial component of the project - the capability to cover the costs of implementation at the expense of loans, grants and other financing forms.