Turkish Minister 'Delays' Nabucco till 2017

Yildiz and Vayrynen at a meeting in Finland, Jan 27, 2011. Photo by Foreign Ministry of Finalnd

A statement of Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz has delayed by two years the entering into operation of the EU-sponsored gas transit pipeline Nabucco.

During a meeting with Finland's Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Vayrynen, Yildiz declared that Nabucco should start delivering natural gas to Europe in 2017. The official deadline for the completion of the project and the first gas supplies is 2015.

"Yildiz explained that the gas pipeline Nabucco, to be constructed from Central Asia to Europe, will make Turkey an even more important geopolitical actor. The target for completion of this 4 000 kilometres long pipeline, passing through seven countries, is in 2017. At that time, it could cover approximately 5% of Europe's energy needs. The completion of Nabucco would link Europe besides to the resources of Central Asia, also to those of the Middle East. This would enhance energy safety of Europe and would be an ideal tool for balancing prices," reads the announcement of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland about the Vayrynen-Yildiz meeting.

It is unclear what led the Turkish Energy Minister to "delay" the Nabucco project by two years; in a similar development in March 2010 EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said that Nabucco will be ready in 2018. This led Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, the Nabucco consortium, to clarify Oettinger's words as meaning that the pipeline will operate at full capacity in 2018.

According to RusEnergy, a Russian consultancy, 2017 coincides with the planned development of Azerbaijan's gas field Shah Deniz II. Several days ago during a visit in Baku, Turkey's Energy Minister said Azerbaijan will take part in Nabucco after a careful analysis.

Two weeks ago, the EU and Azerbaijan made a "breakthrough" deal for the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan to the Union, including via the Nabucco pipeline. Azerbaijan, together with Iraqi Kurdistan, will be the major initial supplier of natural gas for the Nabucco gas transit pipeline.

In November, Turkmenistan announced it was ready to provide the project with more natural gas that it can handle, a revolutionary statement of Turkmenistan's First Deputy Prime Minister Baymurad Khojamukhamedov described the Nabucco Consortium as very promising leaving the Nabucco Consortium convinced that it will strike a supply contract with Turkmenistan.

Khojamukhamedov said Turkmenistan could provide up to 40 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, more than the planned capacity of Nabucco which is 31 billion per year.

Christian Dolezal, Spokesperson of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH, the Vienna-based project company, has explained that in order to secure international funding for the construction of the pipeline, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH needs to secure between 10 and 18 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.

Dolezal said the first gas supplies for Nabucco are expected to come from Azerbaijan – about 8 billion cubic meters per year at first, of which 6 billion could come from the Shah Deniz 2 field. Another 10 billion cubic meters are expected from Iraqi Kurdistan, and the consortium is awaiting the outcome of talks with the Iraqi government.

The Nabucco gas pipeline is supposed to reduce EU's energy dependence on Russia by bringing in natural gas from the Caspian region, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

The construction of the Nabucco gas transit pipeline will start in 2012, and the first natural gas deliveries through it should be a fact in 2015.

The Nabucco shareholders are: Bulgarian Energy Holding (Bulgaria), Botas (Turkey), MOL (Hungary), OMV (Austria), RWE (Germany) and Transgaz (Romania), Each shareholder holds an equal share of 16.67% of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH.

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