Decision on Nabucco, TAP Pushed Back

by

Kostis Geropoulos

19/06/2013 - 5:21pm

THESSALONIKI - A decision on which pipeline would transport natural gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field to Europe may be “a little delayed” due to “complicated negotiations,” a former Turkish official told New Europe on 19 June, adding that “talks are ongoing”.

The three members of the Shah Deniz consortium – BP, France’s Total and Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR - will choose between the two projects to transport 10 billion cubic metres of gas annually to Europe. A decision between the Nabucco West and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is expected by the end of June but the official noted that there are still many issues to be resolved. Turkey and Azerbaijan are constructing the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) which will bring gas from Azerbaijan to the European edge of Turkey, and could be connected with either Nabucco or TAP pipeline.

Both projects are expecting natural gas from the Shah Deniz II project in the Azeri waters of the Caspian Sea.

At 7th South East Europe Energy Dialogue on 19-20 June in Thessaloniki, Greece, experts, industry and government officials are discussing energy supply issues in the region.

TAP plans to transport Caspian gas from the Turkish-Greek border via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to the south of Italy. TAP’s shareholders are Swiss AXPO, Norwegian Statoil and German E.ON Ruhrgas. Last week it was announced that European gas infrastructure group Fluxys is considering taking a shareholding in TAP.

Nabucco West, a short-cut version of the Nabucco project, envisages construction of a pipeline from the Turkish-Bulgarian border through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Austria. The current Nabucco shareholders are the Bulgarian Energy Holding, Turkey’s Botas, Hungary’s FGSZ, Austria’s OMV, and Romania’s Transgaz.

Two weeks ago, the presidents of Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania declared their support in a letter sent to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev. The letter was further supported by Turkey, as referenced by the Austrian President Heinz Fischer.                            europe on line