Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.25 / Trend A.Badalova /
Nabucco gas pipeline project cost will be set in 2012 after the decision on the preferable transportation route by the consortium of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz filed development, the Head of Gas & Power in Austrian OMV, Werner Auli told Reuters on Wednesday.
"As soon as the decision is made on gas supply, the final cost of Nabucco project can be calculated," Auli said.
OMV is one of the shareholders in Nabucco project, which is designed to transport gas from the Caspian region and Middle East to the European countries. The project's other partners are Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and the German RWE.
Gas which will be produced during the second stage of Shah Deniz field development is considered as the main source for Nabucco project.
On Oct. 1, Nabucco with the other pipeline projects (TAP, ITGI) submitted their final proposals to the Azerbaijani side, which will review them in accordance with the previously announced criteria. The decision on the preferable transportation route is expected to be made in the first quarter of 2012.
The current estimated cost of the project stands at7.9 billion euros. Currently these figures are review. The exact cost of the project will be set after the completion of the detailed engineering.
Auli also said that the participants of Nabucco consortium are ready to consider the merger with other similar projects.
Construction of the Nabucco project is planned to start in 2013 and the first supplies are scheduled for 2017. The total length of the pipeline is 3,900 kilometers and a maximum capacity of the pipeline will be 31 billion cubic meters per year.