Iran: Nabucco is a "Dead Plan"

Without Iran's participation, the Nabucco pipeline would amount to nothing but a pipeline void of gas.

Managing Director of National Iranian Gas Exporting Company referred to the Nabucco gas pipeline project a "dead plan" and expressed Iran's readiness to transit Turkmenistan's gas to Europe.

The Mehr news agency quoted Hossein Bidarmaghz as saying that Iran's route for transiting the Turkmenistan's gas to Europe is more economical than the other projects, especially the trans-Caspian gas pipeline.

Pointing to the recent agreement between managers of Nabucco consortium and Turkmenistan's leaders for construction of Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline, Bidarmaghz announced that at present most of the experts believe the Nabucco is a dead and on-paper project.

"Despite the inking of the Nabucco project in 2009, but so far no measure has been conducted for construction of it", he further said.

The trans-Caspian gas pipeline, which may be laid across the Caspian Sea, is a rather complex issue, which is directly linked to the status of the Caspian Sea – an issue requiring coordination by all the member states of the Caspian summit, experts said.

The European Union Council authorized the European Commission on September 12 to negotiate the construction of the trans-Caspian gas pipeline with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan within the southern corridor initiative.

The trans-Caspian gas pipeline project may substantially change the 'gas map' of Europe, but the project has meager prospects so far, experts added.

Source: Tehran Times