Basescu: Nabucco Project Viable If Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan Involved

05.12.2011 By Bostan Radu

Romanian President Traian Basescu said Thursday that the Nabucco pipeline project is viable, as long as Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are among its partners, and defended Turkmenistan's need for guarantees that the gas will be in demand.

Basescu said he agrees with Turkmenistan's terms for participating in the Nabucco project, which are: a political agreement with the European Union and a consortium to build the pipeline through the Caspian Sea between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

He agreed with Turkmenistan's requirement of a high-level political-legal document guaranteeing that the gas will be purchased.

The Romanian president made these statements after his meeting with his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who is on an official visit to Romania.

The Nabucco project's purpose is to increase Europe's energy security by diversifying its sources of natural gas, currently mostly imported from Russia. The pipeline should transport 31 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Central Asia through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria. The project is officially evaluated at EUR7.9 billion.

The companies partnering in the project are Romanian Transgaz Medias (TGN.RO), Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Turkish BOTAS and German RWE.