Azerbaijan, Baku, April 8 / Trend, E. Mehdiyev, A. Badalova /
Nabucco West is in advanced discussions with the international financial instititions (European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Financial Corporation), CEO of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH Reinhard Mitschek told journalists in Baku on Monday.
"We have a mandate letter with these three IFI's, and we expect a Letter of Intent with them very soon, up to summer," Mitschek said, adding that they are now expecting results of the final engineering as well as the open season within the Nabucco West project.
He also added that the discussions are being held with the export credit agencies.
Nabucco West is a short-cut version of Nabucco project, which envisages construction of the pipeline from the Turkish-Bulgarian border to Austria. Gas to be produced within the second phase of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas condensate field development is considered as the main source for the project.
The project's current shareholders are Bulgarian Energy Holding (17.38%), Romanian Transgaz (17.38%), Turkish Botas (17.38%), Austrian OMV (34.76%), and Hungary's FGSZ (13.11%).
Earlier the EBRD's spokesperson told Trend that the Bank's due diligence process for Nabucco West is ongoing. The next steps, according to the spokesperson can be completed only once Nabucco West has been selected as preferred export route by the Shah Deniz consortium in June, 2013.
The EBRD is considering providing debt for financing and mobilising additional commercial bank lending.
The Nabucco West project's debt to equity ratio stands at 70:30, which means that Nabucco's shareholders will invest 30 percent of total cost of the project, and the rest 70 percent will be paid at the expense of loans.