Nabucco takes step toward reality

The Turkish capital brought together the prime ministers of Turkey, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania to sign a Nabucco intergovernmental agreement that showed the political support behind the 3,300-kilometer pipeline project, which will establish an alternative energy route between the East and West. While the high-profile speakers at the ceremony all expressed their contentment at the realization of the first phase of the project, they were further cheered by the good news of possible suppliers both in the Caucasus and the Middle East.

Critics have said the project may not find enough suppliers of natural gas, underlining that no deal has been signed so far with any potential supplier. But Iraq, Egypt and Syria all said Monday that they were ready to contribute gas, as did Turkmenistan on Friday. Azerbaijan, one of the most likely contributors, said it is placing a priority on the project.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, one of the many top-level officials attending the ceremony, said his country projected supplying 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe through Nabucco starting from 2017 at the latest. Speaking to Today's Zaman, Iraqi Deputy Oil Minister Ahmed Abdul Amir Al Shama reiterated his government's commitment to supply that amount of natural gas to Nabucco.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told the audience before the signing of the agreement that Turkey wants to see Russian and Iranian gas flow into the Nabucco pipeline as well. This invitation was partly welcomed by the US, which has reservations about Iran's accession to the project as a supplier without streng-thening ties with the West.

Leaders of participating countries pose for a group photo after the signing ceremony of the Nabucco intergovernmental agreement in Ankara.

US Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Ambassador Richard Morningstar said the US is trying to engage with Russia on energy issues, but Iran should be left out of the project until it improves its ties with Europe. Iran was not invited to the ceremony because of the ongoing standoff over its nuclear program.

The pipeline will be built by a private consortium and is expected to be finished by 2015. It will have a maximum capacity of 31 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually and will cost about $7.9 billion. Experts earlier warned policy makers that there are mainly two sources of suspicion looming over the enthusiasm for project: how to finance it and who will be the suppliers. As the problem of securing the supply no longer seems to be a headache for partner countries after the developments at Monday's ceremony, Nabucco has become a more realistic channel for Europe to diversify the supply for its immense energy need. However, the project is far from saving Europe from being dependent on Russian supplies since its capacity can only respond to a small share of Europe's annual consumption of natural gas, which is around 700 billion cubic meters.

Although Europe will most likely remain dependent upon Russian supplies to some extent, the project would alleviate problems, such as the sudden shut-off in deliveries witnessed earlier this year. Russia provides over a quarter of Europe's gas and 80 percent of that moves through Ukraine's pipelines.

The pipeline will cross through Turkey as well as the aforementioned four member states of the European Union whose prime ministers were all present in the ceremony in addition to Maliki, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, all of whom addressed the audience.

‘Nabucco will be a success story’

Erdoğan was the first speaker at the event. He reiterated that Turkey is at the crossroads of two strategic regions, the Caspian and the Middle East, which together possess two-thirds of the world's energy resources. “We are indeed living at a historic moment. This project will bring Turkey to an important place as regards energy security and deepen the relations between Turkey and the EU in the field of energy,” said the Turkish prime minister, adding that Nabucco will also accelerate other projects.

Having stressed that the project will bring the natural gas of Egypt, Iraq, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan to Europe, Erdoğan said they are willing to see Russia and Iran as supplier countries, too. He also announced that Qatar can also play an important role within the project with its liquefied natural gas. “However, this is not solely an energy project; it will improve the friendship relations and cooperation between our countries, too,” he added. Erdoğan was critical of those saying that Nabucco could never be realized. “Some said that it was a dream. The same people said the same things about the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline as well. Nabucco will be a success story, too,” he said.

The following speaker was Georgian President Saakashvili. He particularly thanked Erdoğan because “he had devoted himself to this project” and underlined that Nabucco is an unparalleled project since it entails the cooperation of so many countries. He recalled the August 2008 war his country had had with Russia and argued that the Russian march towards Tbilisi almost a year ago strengthened the project contrary to the offensive's aim. Underlining Nabucco's significance, Saakashvili said, “This is the revival of the old Silk Road and will certainly make all the transit countries more prosperous."

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann drew attention to the lack of renewable energy resources responding to Europe's energy need and its dependence on natural gas as an environmental friendly and efficient source of energy. He stressed that the crisis between Ukraine and Russia in January, which had left Europe in a difficult situation, was a lesson for them and they are now well aware of the need to diversify their energy. While Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said, “It is a moment of joy, but it is also the beginning of real work,” for concrete results, his Hungarian counterpart, Emil Boc, urged partner countries to form an international board for the project “to maintain the required constant attention and political support.”