Spokesman: Nabucco Surprised by TANAP Agreement

Nabucco spokesman Christian Dolezal has said that the shareholders in the Nabucco project were surprised by an intergovernmental agreement between Turkey and Azerbaijan on the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP).

Speaking in an interview with the Azeri Press Agency (APA), Mr. Dolezal said that although the news of the agreement came as a surprise, the consortium was dealing with it.

"Our shareholders adapted to the condition," he said today.

Despite the strengthening of the relationship between the TANAP consortium and the Azeri government, Mr. Dolezal said that the Nabucco consortium was still open to talks between it and Azeri parties, especially SOCAR, the Azeri national gas company involved in the Shah Deniz gas project.

Though the Nabucco consortium did not involve itself with political matters, there could be no denying the political aspect to the Nabucco pipelines and others, particularly in terms of energy security, he said.

"We are businessmen and do not engage in policy," the APA reports Mr. Dolezal as saying. "But if we take into consideration that, some countries are attracted to this project, then political support is required. We have to see an exact view from the standpoint of investment during the next 10-15 years and this requires political stability."