ANKARA, Turkey, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- The planned Nabucco gas pipeline for Europe will bring "huge gains" to Ankara when it goes into service in 2014, the Turkish energy minister said.
Turkey is positioning itself as a major energy hub for European markets. Some of the longest oil and gas pipelines pass through Turkish territory or are planned for its Black Sea waters.
European leaders are looking to the Nabucco pipeline planned through Turkey as a way to break the Russian deadlock on the European gas sector.
Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told Turkish daily newspaper Today's Zaman that Ankara would benefit substantially from the gas pipeline.
"Turkey will have huge gains (from Nabucco,)" he said.
Despite political support for the project, however, Nabucco has been slow to secure formal commitments from potential non-Russian gas suppliers. Rival pipelines from Russia have made noted progress by comparison.
Yildiz said, however, that Nabucco required long-term commitments and patience to bring the estimated 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to European markets each year through the pipeline.
"We have to do this," he stressed.
