Turkish Energy Minister: Turkey Still Developing Nabucco Pipeline

Turkey is still working to develop the Nabucco project, Turkish Minister for Energy Taner Yildiz has said, following questioning at the Turkey-Georgia Energy and Investment Arena meeting in Georgia.

Speaking on a visit to Tbilisi, Georgia, Minister Yildiz said despite current issues with the pipeline project, Turkey continued to develop the project on its end.

“We are partners in the Nabucco project and try to contribute to its implementation by all means,” he said.

 Minister Yildiz said that the project was an essential part of ensuring energy security to Europe and stressed that EU member states must play their part in finding solutions for ensuring security of supply. He said that Turkey had more than done its share in ensuring this security of supply.

 The minister said that the Trans-Anatolian pipeline, offered as an alternative transport route for Azeri gas, was an alternative to the Nabucco project.

“We offered the Trans-Anatolia gas pipeline as alternative for realization of the Shah Deniz-2 project. Azeri gas will be transported to Turkey and Europe in 2017,” he said. “But European Union countries also must participate in the solution of gas transport safety.”

However, the Trans-Anatolian pipeline would not impact on Nabucco, the Minister said.

“We still think that the need for Nabucco will not decrease over the long term,” he said.

Turkey is one of the five route countries through which the Nabucco pipeline is planned to travel. The pipeline is planned to carry an annual 31 billion cubic feet of gas from Turkey through Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria.

 Turkish state-run BOTAS holds a 16.67 per cent stake in the Nabucco pipeline. Bulgarian Energy Holding, FGSZ, OMV, RWE and Transgaz also each hold a 16.67 per cent stake in the pipeline.