RWE lauds Nabucco gas pipeline

ESSEN, Germany, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- German utility RWE put its weight behind the Nabucco gas pipeline as the cheapest option for Caspian suppliers to link their supplies to European markets.

"The figures clearly show that Nabucco is significantly the cheapest of all the proposed Southern Corridor projects in terms of the cost of transporting the gas to Europe," said Stefan Judisch, chief executive officer of RWE supply and trading.

Regional leaders attended a summit in Prague, Czech Republic, in May for the Southern Corridor, a European energy network that includes the lauded Nabucco gas pipeline for Europe and other transit networks.

European and other Western nations see Nabucco as a key to regional energy diversification, though the project lacks firm commitments from potential suppliers.

Nevertheless, RWE said there is enough gas in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iraq to supply gas for Nabucco.

In terms of cost, the German company said Russia's South Stream option would cost 50 percent more in terms of expected gas volume when compared with Nabucco.

South Stream, meanwhile, relies primarily on Russian gas, while Nabucco would add significant diversification to the regional energy market with multiple suppliers.

RWE said it was in supply discussions with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to move forward with gas supply contracts for the Caspian region during the first half of 2010.

RWE is a shareholder in the Nabucco pipeline consortium.