In order for the much-awaited project to begin, officials from the European Union, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) -- a World Bank Group affiliate – met in Brussels on Monday where they signed a letter of authorization for the large loans.
According to the agreement secured on Monday between the Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH and its partners -- including the Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) and the three financial institutions, the EIB, the EBRD and the IFC -- will provide loans to the project of up to 2 billion euros, 1.2 billion euros and 800 million euros, respectively.
Speaking at a press conference held in the EU administrative center following a ceremony to formalize the signing, Reinhard Mitschek, managing director of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, said an important step had been taken. He added that he expected the loans to be approved next year and that he hoped the pipeline would be able to carry 18 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani and Iraqi natural gas to Europe by late 2014 or early 2015. Additional supplies from producer countries in the region, including Turkmenistan and Egypt, could also be transported in later years, Nabucco’s top executive Mitschek also said.
Also speaking to reporters, BOTAŞ General Director Fazıl Şenel elaborated on the significance of Monday’s agreement and on the project’s possible benefits to Turkey. He said Turkey was one of the masterminds of the Nabucco pipeline, also known as the “Turkey-Austria gas pipeline.”
“We are supporting every step necessary for the project’s completion. Today’s signatures provide proof of the contributions these three important financial institutions will make. It is an important step for the realization of the project. Seventy-five percent of the Nabucco pipeline will be on Turkish soil -- and it will make substantial contributions to the places it passes through. Our producers, industrialists and our people will benefit from the project,” he said.
The 3,300-kilometer-long gas pipeline project will have an annual capacity of 31 billion cubic meters of gas and is expected to cost 7.9 billion euros. If it becomes fully operational, the project will meet 5 percent of Europe’s annual energy demand, which is expected to reach 600 billion cubic meters by 2020.
