Contact:
Gennadi Silbermann
Phone: +49(0)30 81003246
E-Mail: g.silbermann@silvercomm.eu
- Pipeline
- EU
- Nabucco
- Energy
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Berlin (pts015/14.07.2011/11:10) - European energy experts doubt the cost-effectiveness and utility of the Nabucco gas pipeline that would link the European Union and Caspian producer countries. They fear that the project will cost more than the critical limit of 15 billion Euros, twice as much as original EU estimates. Already at the beginning of the year, the "Guardian" reported that analysts at British energy firm BP had expressed doubts about the originally estimated price of 7.9 billion Euros. In their opinion, construction of the Nabucco pipeline will cost a minimum of 14 billion Euros. http://bit.ly/r2nVzS
A common European energy foreign policy should counter dependence on oil and gas imports from a few somewhat unstable supply regions. According to a Eurobarometer poll, 29 per cent of respondents in the UK said that energy-price stability should be a priority of cooperation in the energy sector. In the UK, imports are likely to account for 80 per cent of total annual gas demand by 2020, based on existing policies. http://bit.ly/efJHkt (The European Union and energy)
Only a short time ago, Nabucco's Managing Director Reinhard Mitschek announced at a conference hook-up from Vienna that "Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH has delayed the beginning of construction to 2013 and operation to 2017." However, he added that the cost of 14 to 15 billion Euros had not been financed. Although Mitschek stressed that the repeated delay of the project's timing would have no impact on the capacity utilization of the pipeline, analysts concluded that exactly that was one of the main reasons for confusion. If the project does not result in an annual capacity utilization of 30 billion cubic meters, its economic feasibility will come into question. To guarantee that amount, the pipeline will have to be connected to gas sources in Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan, the British firm BP will operate Shah Deniz.
According to the most-recent information, shareholders in the Shah Deniz project will finally decide on the transport route of Azerbaijani gas to Europe by the end of the year. Aside from the Nabucco pipeline, other possibilities such as Interconnect Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI) or the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will be considered. The originators of the Shah Deniz project expect to receive final suggestions from investors by the first of October. Then, the decision about the export route will ostensibly be made on the basis of economic rather than political considerations.
An energy expert has said that "doubt among many European investors about the financing of an economically doubtful project significantly increases at times of financial crises. In addition, present relations between Europe and the authoritarian regime of Turkmenistan leader Berdymukhamedov are unstable."
Despite the doubts of some experts about Nabucco, the question of alternatives to nuclear energy has again taken center stage after the catastrophe at Fukushima. At the same time, it is clear that the world's increasing need for energy can only be met through the use of many resources - and not only through Nabucco.
Contact:
Silvercomm PR
Gennadi Silbermann
Tel: +49(0)30 81003246
g.silbermann@silvercomm.eu
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