A statement by a senior BP official this week that the Nabucco pipeline was a lost cause may not be the final word on the much-delayed project to bring Caspian gas to Europe. But the European Union is being optimistic if it thinks Nabucco is alive and kicking. If the project stands any chance of happening in the short term it will be much smaller than originally conceived.
Nabucco has been under discussion for more than a decade and is central to the EU’s plan to source gas in the Caspian region to reduce dependence on Russian supplies. Several smaller, rival projects have appeared over the years. All are competing to transport gas from the second phase of the BP-led Shak Deniz development of offshore Azerbaijan.
With a design capacity of 31bn cubic metres a year, Nabucco is the most ambitious of the projects. But so far it has failed to secure sufficient gas supplies to fill the pipeline. If Nabucco runs half empty, investors will face a poor rate of return and might try to compensate by charging shippers very high tariffs.
No comments:
Post a Comment