INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT TO BE SIGNED FOR NABUCCO PROJECT
ANKARA - An intergovernmental agreement for the
Nabucco Project which will transport natural gas to Austria via Turkey,
Bulgaria and Romania, will be signed in Ankara on Monday.
President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, Prime Minister Emil Boc of Romania, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai of Hungary, Chancellor Werner Faymann of Austria, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev of Bulgaria, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will be in attendance at the Nabucco Intergovernmental Agreement Signing Ceremony and Summit at the Rixos Hotel in Turkish capital city Ankara.
U.S. Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Richard Morningstar, U.S. Senator Richard G. Lugar, EU Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs, German State Secretary for Economics and Technology Jochen Homann, Austrian Economics & Labor Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner, Azerbaijani Industry & Energy Minister Natiq Aliyev, Bulgarian Economy & Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov, Georgian Energy Minister Alexander Khetaguri, Hungarian Transportation, Telecommunications & Energy Minister Peter Honig, Egyptian Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmy, Romanian Economy Minister Adriean Videanu, Syrian Oil Minister Sufian al-Aw, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Director for Energy Riccardo Puliti and European Investment Bank Director for Structured Finance and Advisory Activities Thomas Barret are among guests of the event.
Chancellor Faymann, Prime Minister Stanishev and European Commission President Barroso have already arrived in Ankara.
-NABUCCO PROJECT-
The Nabucco Natural Gas Pipeline Project is considered a significant step to ensure energy safety in the European continent.
Talks over the intergovernmental agreement began in January 2009 with the participation of Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria and Germany. Parties reached a consensus during the seventh round of meetings last month.
Nabucco is planned to be an alternative route to transport gas from Turkey to Austria through Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. It is also an alternative source to the Russian supply. The pipeline would carry gas from mainly Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz fields, as well as Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran.
Construction of the 3,300-km pipeline is scheduled to start in 2011 and first deliveries are expected in 2014. The project is expected to cost around 7.9 billion Euros. The annual capacity is expected to rise to 31 billion cubic metres in the coming years.
Turkey wants 15 percent share from natural gas to be carried through the Nabucco pipeline.
The project has six share-holders: BOTAS (Turkey), Bulgargaz (Bulgaria), Transgaz (Romania), MOL (Hungary), OMV (Austria) and RWE (Germany).
