Azerbaijan, Baku, March 21 / Trend A.Badalova /
The shareholders of Nabucco consortium are exploring to realize the pipeline from the Turkish-Bulgarian border to Austria as a first phase of the Nabucco project, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH spokesman, Christian Dolezal told Trend.
Dolezal said that the development of the project is done on a market oriented basis.
"If shareholders can reach a win-win situation considering the whole gas chain from the well heads in Azerbaijan and other countries to their markets and the economics are similar to the base case of Nabucco, such alternatives are welcomed," Dolezal said.
He also added that the negotiations between the project's shareholders and the consortium of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas field development are ongoing, and no final decision has been made.
In September, 2011 Nabucco Gas Pipeline International submitted the proposals to the Shah Deniz consortium, which envisages the construction of 3,900 km pipeline from the Georgian-Turkish and Iraqi-Turkish borders to the Austrian Baumgarten. The maximum capacity of the pipeline, which is designed to transport gas from the Caspian region and Middle East to the European countries, is planned at 31 cubic meters of gas per year.
The shareholders of Nabucco project are Bulgarian Energy Holding, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas, Austrian OMV, German RWE and Hungary's FGSZ.
Today, Azerbaijan considers three proposals for the gas transportation to Europe - Nabucco, TAP (Trans Adriatic Pipeline) and SEEP (South-East Europe Pipeline, proposed by BP).
Moreover, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the consortium that will build the Trans Anadolu Pipeline (TANAP) to supply gas from Shah Deniz gas field to Europe through Turkey.