Iranian official labels Nabucco as "dead plan"

PanARMENIAN.Net - Managing Director of the National Iranian Gas Exporting Company (NIGEC) Hossein Bidarmaghz termed the Nabucco pipeline project a "dead plan", and said Iran can supply gas to Europe via Turkmenistan.

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

"Despite the inking of the Nabucco project in 2009, so far no measure has been taken for its construction,” he stated, Fars News Agency reported.

Iran is considered a potential source of natural gas supplies for Nabucco.

Nabucco's viability was also questioned by Hungary's Minister For National Development, who said that the gas conduit lacked a firm commitment from buyers and sellers of gas.

Tamas Fellegi also warned that the cost of the gas-pipeline could quadruple to EUR 26bln.

One of the most serious problems Nabucco faces is finding supply sources, which is why its launch was postponed from 2105 to 2018.

Nabucco, which faces stiff competition from rival pipelines including Russia's South Stream, is to bring up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas a year from the Caspian region to Austria via Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.