National Regulators Confirm Extension of Nabucco Third-Party Exemption

Map of the Nabucco West gas pipeline project by Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH

The national regulatory bodies of Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria have adopted a draft decision confirming the extension of the existing 50% exemption from EU legislation on third party access granted to Nabucco.

According to a media statement of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH, the extension of the validity of the exemption is in line with the production schedule of the Shah Deniz gas field.

Through the draft decision, the four national watchdogs also confirmed their support for the Nabucco legal and regulatory framework, consisting of the Nabucco Intergovernmental Agreement, the Project Support Agreements and the Exemptions.

The exemption from current EU legislation, which states that 100% network access has to be made available to companies not directly involved, can be only be granted in the case of major cross-border projects.

The current shareholders in the EU-backed Nabucco gas pipeline project are the Bulgarian Energy Holding, Austria's OMV, Turkey's Botas, Romania's Transgaz and Hungary's FGSZ, a subsidiary of MOL.

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