UPI: Nabucco, TAP near finish, but lots of room in EU

A BP-led consortium working offshore Azerbaijan is expected to pick between the Nabucco West and Trans-Adriatic natural gas pipelines next month, though there may be enough room for more than one pipeline in the long term.

The 10-year race over which pipeline will first carry natural gas from the Shah Deniz II field offshore Azerbaijan will be over in a couple of weeks. Both Nabucco West and TAP fall under the umbrella of the Southern Gas Corridor, a network of transit projects meant to add diversify to a eurozone dependent on Russia for natural gas.

Russian energy company Gazprom sends much of its natural gas to Europe through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. Contractual disputes between Gazprom and the Ukrainian government have left the European energy sector vulnerable to Russian wishes. Europe's Southern Gas Corridor would loosen that grip by shifting the focus to non-Russian natural gas suppliers.

Officials from Nabucco West and TAP say their project will be the best and the first to get the nod from Azerbaijan. Managing Director of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH Reinhard Mitschek said his project would provide the "biggest market access without hidden costs." TAP External Affairs Director Michael Hoffmann said his pipeline is "the most commercially viable gas transportation solution for shipping Caspian gas to Europe."  MORE

Read our interview with Reinhard Mitschek