Offshore staff

ATHENS, Greece – Gerhard Roiss, CEO of Austrian oil company OMV, has suggested that the proposed Nabucco gas export pipeline from the Caspian Sea could be delayed by up to a year.

In response, Harry Sachinis, chairman and CEO of DEPA, the group proposing the alternative ITGI system through southern Europe, said: “This reinforces the rationale for a scalable pipeline, with an initial 10 bcm capacity, to supply all the Shah Deniz II gas to Europe as soon as it becomes available.

“We’ve always said that ITGI should be considered as the first step in a phased approach to opening up the Southern Gas Corridor. There is no reason Nabucco could not be the second once further gas volumes become available.

“The ITGI system can begin supplying Azeri gas to southern Europe through the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector as early as 2013, sooner than any other pipeline proposal.”

10/18/2011