Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 12 / Trend, E. Tariverdiyeva /
The confirmed huge new gas reserves in the Caspian Sea make Nabucco more attractive, British Institute Chatham House expert Yuri Fedorov told Trend over phone on Wednesday.
"The news about the discovery of large gas fields in the Caspian Sea is certainly positive news for the EU as the additional opportunity of getting gas theoretically appears," Fedorov said. "The importance of all communication projects on gas delivery from the Caspian region and the role of all transport projects included in the South Corridor also increases."
Business Development Manager for British Gaffney, Cline & Associates (GCA) Jim Gillett told press in Ashgabat on Wednesday that Turkmenistan has sufficient gas to make guaranteed supplies not only from the present, but the planned export transnational gas main lines.
According to the recent estimates, the initial geological reserves of Southern Yoloten-Osman hit up to 21.2 trillion cubic meters of gas, Gillet said.
The estimates of the Yashlar field's reserves also increased compared to 2008. The data on Yashlar estimate 5 trillion cubic meters of gas.
Previously, in early September, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated about the opening of a new major gas field "Absheron" in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.
According to Total, gas reserves in the field are estimated at several trillion cubic feet of gas and condensate in accordance with the initial assessments.
Total is one of the participants of the contract on Absheron field exploration and drilling.
Fedorov said that all this news, of course, make "Nabucco" project much more attractive.
Although all political decisions in this regard have already been taken, the issue of implementing the project in practice remains. The interest in it will only increase amid the news from the Caspian region, he said.
The fact that there is much gas in the Caspian Sea and the Caspian region may become the gas Persian Gulf has been known for over 20 years ago, the expert said said.
However, he said that all these projects require huge investments. This forces professionals to be cautious in the estimates.
"The role of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan in the problems with providing Europe with gas thanks to the latest news from the Caspian region," he said. "Though Europe has the prospect of developing shale gas fields, this is a distant prospect. The projects of gas delivery from the Caspian region are a reality."
Nabucco pipeline's maximum capacity will hit 31 billion cubic meters per year. The pipeline's construction is scheduled for 2013, while the first gas supplies via the pipeline are expected in 2017.
The current participants of Nabucco project are Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE companies. Each of participants has equal share to the amount of 16.67 percent.
Azerbaijan, Iraq and Turkmenistan are considered as the main gas suppliers for the project.