EU Welcomes Decision on Nabucco West

EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger welcomed today's announcement by the Shah Deniz consortium in favour of the Nabucco West pipeline, saying that it marked " a success for Europe and for our security of supply."

The consortium developing the second phase of largest natural gas field in Azerbaijan announced that Nabucco West, a scaled down version of the Nabucco Pipeline, was the preferred choice for the delivery of natural gas from Azerbaijan through Turkey and onwards to Central Europe.

The final selection process will see the consortium weigh the advantages of Nabucco West, with a route running from the Turkish-Bulgarian border to Baumgarten in Austria, against southern route through Greece and Albania to Italy proposed by Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

"With this pre-selection, we are a step closer to getting gas directly from Azerbaijan and other countries in the Caspian region. Whatever the final decision on the whole route from the Eastern part of Turkey to Europe, Azerbaijani gas is certain to come to Europe," commented Oettinger.