Local engineering of Nabucco"s pipeline route begins

Alina Toma Vereha

Technical work on the proposed Nabucco cross-country gas pipeline is entering an "intensive phase," according to the pipeline consortium"s chief.

British consulting company Penspen is coordinating planning efforts for five local front-end engineering and design firms for Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.

"These local companies are currently evaluating and investigating the technical details of the pipeline"s route, in order to finalize the detailed technical plans", Reinhard Mitschek, General Manager of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, said. The results are essential with a view of obtaining the official approvals, for the negotiations on construction and quality specifications, as well as for the negotiations with natural gas suppliers, according to a press release sent to our editors. In addition, the analysis is a substantial part of the environmental and social impact evaluation, in which the financing institutions are involved from the start.

Starting April 1st, Reinhard Mitschek suspended his contract with OMV Gas&Power GmbH and left his position of Senior Vice-President of OMV Gas Logistics, in order to dedicate himself exclusively to the Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH consortium. MR. Mitschek will be deal exclusively with the accomplishment of the Nabucco project, as General Manager.

The recent EU summit, held last Friday in Prague, represents a milestone moment for Nabucco, from a political point of view. "The participation of some very important gas supplier countries, including Turkey, to this EU summit proves the political will to use the corridor as the new route for providing natural gas to Turkey and Europe", Reinhard Mitschek said. The intergovernmental agreement, which is a fundamental legal aspect for Nabucco, is presently being reviewed at a Ministry level, and is scheduled to be signed by the end of June.

The Nabucco pipeline will run from Turkey via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to end in the vicinity of Baumgarten (Western of Baumgarten) - with 3,300 km in total length.

Current shareholders are OMV, MOL, Transgaz, Bulgargaz Energy Holding, BOTAS and RWE. The planned capacity for the final development stage is 31 billion cubic meters. Total investments currently amount to EUR 7.9 billion..