Key dates for Nabucco clarified - no delay

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Construction for the Nabucco gas pipeline for Europe launches in 2011 with first gas deliveries set for 2014, executives with the pipeline consortium said.

Reinhard Mitschek, managing director of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH, explained to the Azeri press agency APA Economics that progress for the $10.3 billion natural gas pipeline was on schedule following the July signing of a milestone intergovernmental agreement in Ankara.

Nabucco is designed to have the capacity to move 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas each year to European customers from Caspian and Middle Eastern suppliers. The pipeline would run from the Caspian region through Turkey to Austria along a route through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.

Christian Dolezal, the spokesman for the pipeline consortium, clarified earlier reports from an economic summit in Krynica, Poland, where he was quoted as saying the pipeline was delayed.

"I was misquoted in the reports of Krynica," he said. "I explained that the first construction step will start 2011 to 2014 from Austria to Ankara. Then Nabucco could start first gas deliveries. Then the construction work will be ongoing from 2014 to 2016 to the eastern Turkish borders."

Despite the political will for the pipeline, the project lacks firm commitments from potential gas suppliers. Mitschek, however, said supply options were diverse.

"We see Azerbaijan, Iraq and Turkmenistan as the first suppliers," he said. "Other options will also be considered in the future."