Turkey: Nabucco Project
The Nabucco pipeline project makes Turkey an energy terminal and connects Europe to large natural gas reserves of the Caspian, Middle East and Egypt.
The pipeline will be 3,300 kilometers long and cost around five billion euros to complete.
It would be completed by the year 2012. Once it is completed, the pipeline will carry 31 billion cubic meters of gas annually.
Nabucco Project Details
The Nabucco pipeline, or Nabucco Project is a planned natural gas pipeline that will transport natural gas from Turkey to Austria, via Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. It will run from Erzurum in Turkey to Baumgarten an der March, a major natural gas hub in Austria. Some consider the pipeline as a diversion from the current methods of importing natural gas solely from Russia.
Nabucco could bring gas supplies from Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Egypt and Syria. It will be connected near Erzurum with the Tabriz-Erzurum pipeline, and with the South Caucasus Pipeline, connecting Nabucco Pipeline with the planned Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline. It will run from Erzurum in Turkey to Baumgarten an der March in Austria with total length of 3,300 kilometres (2,050 mi).In early years after completion the deliveries are expected to be between 4.5 and 13 billion cubic meters (bcm) per annum, of which 2 to 8 bcm goes to Baumgarten. Later, approximately half of the capacity is expected to be delivered to Baumgarten and half of the natural gas is to serve the markets en-route. The transmission volume of around 2020 is expected to reach 25.5 to 31 bcm per annum, of which up to 16 bcm goes to Baumgarten.
Construction of pipeline is expected to begin in 2009 and is planned to be finished in 2012. It estimated to cost around 4.6 billion EUR (5.8 billion USD). The company leading the project is OMV from Austria.
The Nabucco project is included in the EU Trans-European Energy Network programme and a feasibility study for the Nabucco pipeline has been performed under an EU project grant. The European Commission Nabucco coordinator is Jozias van Aartsen.
More Details on Nabucco Project
The project is developed by the Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH, established in 2004 in Vienna. The shareholders of the company are:
* OMV (Austria)
* MOL (Hungary)
* Transgaz (Romania)
* Bulgargaz (Bulgaria)
* BOTAŞ (Turkey)
* RWE (Germany)
All current shareholders have 16.67% of the shares.
French company Gaz de France was also interested to get a stakes in the pipeline, but was rejected by Turkey.
In future the consortium could include also the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic. Also Kazakhstan has indicated its readiness to join the project.
Alternative to Nabucco Project
Gazprom has proposed an alternative project competing Nabucco Pipeline by constructing a second section of the Blue Stream pipeline beneath the Black Sea to Turkey, and extending this up through Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia to western Hungary.
News About Nabucco Project
‘Turkey will complete Nabucco’
Turkey will complete Nabucco Project successfully, says Turkish Energy Minister Guler.
Turkish Energy & Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Guler said Thursday he believed Turkey would complete Nabucco Project successfully as it did with important projects such as BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project) and Shah Sea.
Guler met Jozias Van Aartsen, European Union’s coordinator for natural gas projects in southern Europe, in his office in Ankara.
Guler told reporters Aartsen and he focused on Nabucco Project in their meeting.
“The project is being conducted rapidly. Turkey attaches great importance to this project,” he said.
On the other hand, Aartsen said he would have a meeting with PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan this evening.
Nabucco project is progressing well and Turkey has a great contribution to it, Aartsen said.
Sources for Nabucco Project:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabucco_Pipeline
- http://www.newstime7.com
