VIENNA, June 1 (UPI) -- Signing project support agreements for the Nabucco gas pipeline during an event next week in Turkey will mark a project milestone, a director said from Vienna.
Europe aims to break Russia's grip on the regional energy sector with its so-called Southern Corridor of transit networks that includes the Nabucco natural gas pipeline.
Bulgarian, Austrian, Turkish, Romanian, Hungarian and Germany companies meet Monday in Turkey to sign off on project support agreements for the pipeline.
Reinhard Mitschek, managing director for the pipeline consortium, said the signing ceremony would be a significant step for the project. The signing, he said in a statement, was part of a "necessary prerequisite for the successful financing of the project."
Directors said in February they might need to revise the $10.9 billion price tag if the project has to link to gas suppliers in Iraq. Financial estimates are expected later this year after consortium members examine potential connections to existing networks in the Middle East.
Nabucco would stretch from 2,400 miles from Turkey to Austria, crossing Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. Supplies could come from Azerbaijan.
The project consortium announced in May that construction was delayed by one year to 2013 and gas deliveries weren't expected until 2017 because of supplier timelines.
