The Nabucco Committee held its fourth meeting on 12 April 2013 in Budapest, where the permanent members of the Committee reasserted in a declaration their commitment to the implementation of the Nabucco West project planned for the transmission of natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe.
In addition to the representatives of the countries signing the Nabucco intergovernmental treaty (Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Turkey and Austria), the United States of America, the European Commission, the Nabucco International Consortium and its owners participated in the meeting with observer status: MOL (FGSZ Zrt.) of Hungary, OMV of Austria, Bulgarian Energy Holding, Transgaz of Romania and Botas of Turkey, members of the Shah Deniz consortium, i.e. BP of Great Britain, Socar of Azerbaijan, TOTAL of France, Statoil of Norway as well as the EIB and EBRD.
At the press conference, Pál Kovács, the Minister of State for Climate and Energy Affairs emphasised that, owing to its central position within the region and its multi-level energy cooperation existing with countries in the region, Hungary is in the position to become a major participant of the natural gas market in Central-Eastern Europe. In accordance with Hungary's diversification objectives defined in the National Energy Strategy, the country is in the position to open the way for natural gas from the Caspian Sea to the heart of Europe on the basis of its infrastructure development projects implemented in recent years, the organised natural gas market launched this year and its substantial storage capacities. He emphasised that “Nabucco West is a flagship enterprise in connecting the regional energy markets and in the supply of energy to the region.”
Reinhard Mitschek, CEO of the Nabucco consortium, expressed his satisfaction at the press conference of the committee meeting. He said that it was important that members of the committee had expressed their firm commitment to continuous strategic and tactical cooperation in the Nabucco West project, which is adapted to the diversified energy supply objectives of Europe. By expressing their intention, they affirmed that the political and legal framework plays a key role in the implementation of the project that provides genuine benefits for producers, investors and suppliers.
Beyond reasserted official affirmation of political support at the meeting of the committee, further measures were drawn up that serve the early implementation of the pipeline project based on the intergovernmental treaty. In the period until June 2013, leading up to the planned decision making of the Shah Deniz consortium, the members states of the Nabucco West project will clarify any authorisation, taxation and other issues. The next round of coordination will take place in Bucharest in the end of May 2013.
The planned Nabucco West natural gas pipeline — connected to the Trans-anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) in Turkey — would deliver Azerbaijani gas through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to the Central European Gas Hub in Baumgarten, Austria.
(Ministry of National Development Communication Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
