Intergovermental pact on Nabucco project signed in Ankara

An intergovernmental signing ceremony on construction of the Nabucco project, a planned major pipeline to carry Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey, took place in Ankara yesterday with the participation of top representatives from the project's partner countries, including Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, Romanian President Traian Basescu, Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, and Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai. Among other high-level attendees of the ceremony, which was hosted by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, were European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, US Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Richard Morningstar, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee head Richard Lugar, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, and energy ministers from Azerbaijan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Egypt. Speaking at the ceremony, Erdogan said the agreement shows that that Nabucco is no mere dream but a realistic project, expressing his belief that the pipeline will be operational on time. Stating that the project would also promote rapprochement among various countries across a large region, Erdogan stressed that Nabucco carries great importance for relations between the West and East. Erdogan also highlighted the importance of the project for Turkish-EU relations. "With this agreement, Turkey is now one of the leading partners of the EU's energy policy," Erdogan said. Saying that Turkey has taken remarkable steps in recent years to harmonize its energy market with that of the EU, Erdogan added, "Seen solely in terms of energy matters, it will be clear that Turkey should be part of the EU." Erdogan also expressed his belief that Iran, Russia and even Qatar could eventually export their natural gas to Europe via Nabucco when conditions are right, adding that Turkey wants all leading natural gas producers in the Caspian region and Middle East to promote European energy security. Also speaking at the ceremony, Barroso said that Nabucco would make great contributions to the security of EU energy supplies, adding that it would usher in a new era in Turkish-EU relations in the years to come. He called the project an indispensable one, expressing the EU's readiness to buy the natural gas carried by the pipeline. Al-Maliki told the ceremony that his country was ready to participate in the project as a supplier country. The US' Morningstar said that Turkey plays a key role in energy supply security, and that this will strengthen Turkish-EU relations. Other leaders also praised the pipeline as an important strategic project that would strengthen cooperation-oriented interdependence among the participating countries. The EU places great importance on Nabucco to strengthen energy security by diversifying its energy suppliers. The project costs a total of €7.8 billion, with €4.8 billion invested in Turkey, the biggest single direct investment ever in Turkey, which will provide employment opportunities for some 15,000 people. The 3,300-kilometer pipeline will pass through five countries, with 2,000 kilometers of it going through Turkey, which is expected to earn €450 million annually by running the pipeline. Its construction will begin next year, and its first deliveries are expected to reach Europe in 2014. In its full capacity, the pipeline will carry 31 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe. Under the intergovernmental agreement, partner countries of the project could buy 50 percent of the natural gas that will flow through the pipeline.