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Nabucco West Selected as Central European Delivery Route by Shah Deniz Consortium
The Shah Deniz II Consortium announced on 29 June that it had selected the 1300 km Nabucco West project as its delivery option through Central Europe, beginning an eventful phase in the project’s development. The announcement of the Shah Deniz Consortium was welcomed by the European Commissioner for Energy, Günther Oettinger. He commented: "With this pre-selection, we are a step closer to getting gas directly from Azerbaijan and other countries in the Caspian region. Whatever the final decision on the whole route from the Eastern part of Turkey to Europe, Azerbaijani gas is certain to come to Europe." "This is a success for Europe and for our security of supply".
The next few months will see intense alignment discussions with the Shah Deniz II consortium with a view to commencing the open season process in Q2 of 2013, on the basis that gas from Shah Deniz has been dedicated to Nabucco West and that gas supply agreements have been entered into with NIC shareholders. As it was pointed out last week, Nabucco is open for talks for an eventual partnership with the State Oil Co. of the Azerbaijan Republic. Al Cook, Vice President of Shah Deniz Development for BP, has already communicated to the media that the Shah Deniz Consortium plans to reach an agreement to take equity in Nabucco.
Nabucco is a Commercial Project that Benefits from Political Support and Stability
While a final decision from the Shah Deniz Consortium is expected next year, we remain convinced that our project, with its multi-source approach, scalability, commercial and financial advantages and its access to growing, stable markets, is the best investment choice to guarantee freedom of choice and energy security in the Southern Gas Corridor.
Minister Natik Aliyev, Industry and Energy Minister of Azerbaijan, told reporters that Nabucco West is the best option from all points of view. He said: "It has a big capacity, big diameter, and it gives us the opportunity to deliver gas to east and central Europe. It's a more reliable market for Azeri gas."
Project development on Nabucco West, already in an advanced phase, continues apace. NABUCCO Gas Pipeline International GmbH will launch in the coming weeks a tender for the front end engineering and design of the “Nabucco West” pipeline.
The process of acquiring the necessary permits for construction is also proceeding at full-speed. In Hungary, The Middle Trans-Danubian IENW granted the Environmental Permit for the realization of the NABUCCO Gas Pipeline Project considering the section crossing its area of authority in its Resolution No.: 53441/2012, on June 15, 2012. The Permit is currently in the public disclosure phase prior to issuance.