Baku warming to Nabucco

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Azerbaijan said it could supply Europe with natural gas through the lauded Nabucco pipeline if the project moves forward with construction.

Europe aims to diversify its regional energy sector with Nabucco. Russia supplies roughly one-quarter of Europe's gas, though 80 percent of that moves through Soviet-era pipelines in Ukraine. A January 2009 gas row between Moscow and Kiev left Europe in the cold for weeks.

Meanwhile, Europe expects its gas consumption to increase from 2005 levels of 17.7 trillion cubic feet per year to 28.8 trillion cubic feet by 2030, forcing the bloc to scramble for alternative gas supplies.

Azerbaijan has emerged as a major regional energy supplier, reaching a series of deals with many of its neighbors.

Rovnag Abdullayev, the president of the State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic, said Azerbaijan is ready to supply Nabucco if the pipeline gets built, the Azerbaijan Business Center reports.

Ankara hosted the signing of a milestone intergovernmental agreement by representatives of Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey on the construction of the Nabucco natural gas pipeline in July. Despite political support for the project, firm commitments from potential gas suppliers are slow to develop.

Nabucco is designed to bring 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to European customers per year. The first phase of the construction is slated for 2011, with gas deliveries expected as early as 2014.