Azerbaijan, Baku, 6 February / corr Trend A.Badalova / German company RWE has become the 6th shareholder in the Nabucco Gas Pipeline Company, which was established to manage the construction of the Nabucco gas pipeline project. The official entry ceremony was held in Vienna, RWE reported.
The other shareholders are Turkish company Botas, Austrian company OMV, Hungarian company MOL, Romanian company Transgaz, and Bulgarian company Bulgargaz. At this time each shareholder possesses 16.67% shares.
"We are glad that the Nabucco consortium accepted us as the sixth partner, as the gas pipeline will increase the security of gas delivery to Europe," Stefan Judisch, RWE General Director for Gas Operations, said.
The discharge capacity of the 3,000km-long Nabucco gas pipeline is 31bln cu m a year. The pipeline will run from Turkey to Baumgarten, located near Vienna via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. The route with the initial discharge capacity of approximately 8bln cu m a year, will be built by 2012. The first deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2013. The total budget of the project is $7.4bln.
The project is estimated at $6.6bln. The Nabucco gas pipeline will ensure the gas delivery via the Mediterranean and Caspian Sea to Europe via Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Austria. Nabucco will transport gas from Azerbaijan and Central Asia to the EU. The gas from Central Asia to Nabucco may be delivered via the planned Tran-Caspian pipeline. The Trans-Caspian gas pipeline will extend to Azerbaijan, where the gas reserves are expected to comprise 6trln cu m, from the Caspian coast of Kazakhstan or Turkmenistan. The Mediterranean gas from Azerbaijan to the end of the Nabucco pipeline is delivered via the currently existing South Caucasus gas pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum).