Oettinger: European Commission Will Welcome Any Shah Deniz Decision

The European Commission will welcome any decision from the Shah Deniz consortium, EU Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger has said today.

Speaking at an event in Brussels, Mr. Oettinger said that the Commission would be satisfied with any pipeline route decision made by the consortium. 

"I want to make it clear that irrespective of the commercial outcome of the award process, the Commission will welcome the decision by the Shah Deniz consortium for the selection of the pipeline," he said. 

Three prospective pipeline operators, Nabucco, the Interconnection Turkey Greece Italy (ITGI), and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) announced in October that they had placed bids with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) to supply gas from the massive Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan.

A decision on which bid will be successful will be announced in the late Spring of 2012.

Mr. Oettinger told the assembled audience that gas diversification continued to be a priority for the European Commission, with the Southern Gas Corridor of particular importance to European gas supply.

He also said that cooperation between each pipeline operator was essential to the corridor.

"To realize the potential of Southern Gas Corridor, I firmly believe that all projects have to work together," he said.