Nabucco can still be deemed a promising projectNovember 5, 2011 - 15:06 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Union-backed plan to bring in up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas a year from the Caspian region has been plagued by delays and concerns about possible rising costs. The Vienna-based pipeline consortium has estimated that Nabucco could cost around 7.9 billion euros ($10.9 billion) but has said this could change. It is scheduled to transport the first supplies in 2017 or 2018, Reuters reports. "Nabucco is not cheap, the cost factor is 10 billion euros or more," European Commissioner for Energy in the EC Günther Oettinger told an energy conference in Vienna. Asked later whether this meant Nabucco was too expensive to build, Oettinger said he thought the project could still go ahead. "For a big project like Nabucco we need a European energy policy which enables investors to see that their investments make sense in the long term," Oettinger said. According to him coordinated industry effort is a way to ensure that banks are willing to put money into Nabucco. "The debt crisis, which could develop into a financial market crisis or an economic crisis, is certainly no good sign," he said when asked if the state of the credit market could put financing for the project at risk. "However, the project can still be assessed as being well-founded and it therefore can be made bankable," he added. Nabucco faces rivalry from Gazprom's South Stream gas project and is also competing with two smaller projects to carry gas supplies from Azerbaijan. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Armenia-Qatar ties discussed in Doha The Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council met with the Deputy Secretary General of the National Security Council of Qatar. ARARAT special evening dedicated to Aznavour's 100th Anniv. On May 20 ARARAT legendary Armenian brandy, celebrated the centennial of Maestro Charles Aznavour with a special event. Surveying works underway in Armenia’s Kirants Surveying works are underway in the Armenian village of Kirants in the northern Tavush province. Armenia calls for prohibiting threats of attacks on nuclear facilities Armenia has raised the need for a treaty prohibiting attacks on nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes. |