Gaz de France cancels Nabucco interest

PARIS, July 22 (UPI) -- French energy firm Gaz de France canceled its bid to become the seventh member of the construction team for the Nabucco gas pipeline, statements said.

Gaz de France merged with the privately owned French-Belgian utility company Suez July 16 to form one of the largest utility corporations in Europe.

Gaz de France officials did not disclose the terms of the cancellation, though Jean Francois Sirelli with the consortium Gaz de France-Suez said Nabucco was favored by Europe, Trend Capital News said Tuesday.

The Nabucco pipeline will bring natural gas from Turkey to eastern European countries. The planned 2,050-mile natural gas pipeline is intended to move the European community away from dependence on Russian energy.

Sirelli said last week his firm would join the construction consortium if it could receive natural gas transported through the pipeline.

Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Romania and Turkey hold equal shares in the $12.4 billion Nabucco project.