Piebalgs hails benefits of Nabucco

BRUSSELS, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- The Nabucco gas pipeline will make European gas markets more competitive while increasing energy security in the region, the EU energy commissioner said.

Andris Piebalgs, the energy commissioner for the European Union, said the Nabucco pipeline from Central Asia will be a boon to the region.

"The project Nabucco is a big competition in the market, more security of energy supplies and at last, more gas," he said in statements on his Web site.

The increase in regional demand has burdened the existing European infrastructure and the growing dependency on Russian natural resources makes diversified supplies attractive to regional customers, he said.

The commissioner cautioned, however, the Western-backed Nabucco pipeline should not be viewed as a direct rival to the Russian Nord Stream pipeline to Germany or the South Stream pipeline to Italy.

The $12.4 billion Nabucco project will carry around 282 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year to European markets by 2013.

The comments from the energy commissioner came on the heels of a diplomatic tour in support of the pipeline that brought him to Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Turkey.