Azerbaijan, Baku /Corr. Trend S. Aliyev/ Investments in the construction of the NABUCCO gas pipeline is estimated to be approximately €5bln, according to Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH.
The maximum discharge capacity of the 3,000km-long pipeline with the diameter of 56" is expected to comprise 31bln cu m of gas a year.
In the long-term prospect, the share of imported natural gas in the total supply of energy resources to Europe will increase to 34% from the current 24%. Marketing research shows that in 2020 some 25-30bln cu m of gas will be delivered from the Caspian region and Near East.
Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, with headquarters in Vienna, was founded on 24 June 2004. The shareholders of the company are OMV Gas International, MOL, Transgaz, Bulgargaz Holding, and Botas each holding a 20% share.
At the first stage of construction of the pipeline, which is scheduled for 2009, it is planned to build a 2,000km section from Ankara ( Turkey) to Baumgarten ( Austria). After the completion of the construction, the existing pipeline, infrastructure on the Turkish-Georgian and Turkish-Iranian borders will be used for an interim period for two years to connect to a new pipeline to the Turkish border.
This will enable the launch of the first gas deliveries in 2012 in the amount of 8bln cu m a year. The rest of the NABUCCO pipeline will be built simultaneously.
The second phase of the project envisages the construction of two additional pipelines between Georgia and Turkey and Iran and Turkey from 2012 to 2013.
The third phase envisages the construction of additional compression stations on the pipeline for gradually increasing the capacity of NABUCCO to 31bln cu m a year.