Oettinger welcomes 'Shah-Deniz'

By Brussels correspondent

Commissioner Oettinger welcomes ratification of TANAP gas pipeline agreement
EU Energy Commissioner Oettinger welcomes the ratification of TANAP gas pipeline agreement and the agreement completed today between the Shah Deniz 2 consortium and Nabucco consortium.

“I am pleased to see that a crucial step towards realisation of the South Corridor has been taken: both Azerbaijan and Turkey have ratified the TANAP agreement, thus enabling a dedicated infrastructure for the transport of Azeri gas to the EU', - said Oettinger.

TANAP (Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline) will take gas from Shah Deniz gas field 2 in Azerbaijan through Turkey to Europe. In 2018 the Shah Deniz 2 consortium will sell 16 bcma of gas to Turkey and Europe.

CEO of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH (NIC) Reinhard Mitschek said that Germany's RWE proposed to exit the project, and this will be soon announced by the respective NIC shareholders and also by the RWE.

Nabucco West is a short-cut version of Nabucco project, which envisages construction of the pipeline from the Turkish-Bulgarian border to Austria.

Last week Nabucco shareholders and Shah Deniz partners signed Cooperation Agreement and Equity Option and Funding Agreement.
Equity Option and Funding Agreement, in particular, envisages joint funding of the development costs of the Nabucco West up to the pipeline selection decision for Shah Deniz' European export route, as well as the granting to Potential Investors of equity options of 50 percent to participate as shareholders in NIC following a positive pipeline selection decision by the Shah Deniz Consortium in favour of Nabucco West.

NIC expects to form the joint venture of nine to ten shareholders at the end of the day, CEO of NIC Reinhard Mitschek said during a conference call on Monday.
"The shareholder structure for the first half of 2013 and then ongoing with the pipeline selection decision will be reviewed," Mitsche said.

Mitschek stressed that once the equity option will be executed by the four partners on the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas condensate field's development (SOCAR, BP, Statoil and Total), they will join the project.