BOTAŞ head says EU was late to back Nabucco
Posted by meb at March 19th, 2008
State-owned Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) General Manager Saltuk Düzyol has claimed that the European Union did not act in a timely fashion to provide support for the Nabucco project, which seeks to construct a natural gas pipeline to carry Caspian gas to European markets through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria.
Talking to members of the press after the seventh Turkish International Oil and Gas Conference and Showcase (TUROGE 2008) in Ankara, Düzyol shared his remarks on some crucial issues concerning Turkey’s energy policies. In reply to a question on whether Turkey had any plans to accept a seventh partner in Nabucco, he said Turkey’s current position was closer to conducting the project with the current six partner countries. He also claimed that the South Stream project, being carried out by Italian energy giant Eni and Russian Gazprom, is a tough contender for Nabucco. Düzyol also criticized Eni for helping both Nabucco and the South Stream project.
Meanwhile Reinhard Mitschek, the head of the Nabucco project, said Tuesday there was enough demand for gas for the project to coexist successfully with a rival Russian-backed scheme. Large gas reserves in the Caspian and Middle East regions and the expected increase in European demand is enough to justify both projects, Mitschek told the Associated Press. The Nabucco pipeline, slated for construction in 2010 and to start operations three years later, will bypass Russia and help ease western Europe’s dependence on Russian supplies. “To a certain extent they are competitors, to a certain extent they are complementary for Europe,” said Mitschek.
source: Today’s Zaman
Related posts: