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Iran ready to supply gas for Nabucco

20 July 2009 17:11 (UTC +04:00)

European, Central Asian and Western allies met in Ankara on Monday to sign an intergovernmental agreement on the $10.7 billion Nabucco gas pipeline.
Europe views Nabucco as an answer to its move to ease its dependency on Russia for natural gas. That move became urgent in January following a disruptive gas row between Russia and Ukraine, which hosts the majority of Russian gas bound for Europe.
Despite modest political support, the project faces shortfalls in meeting commitments for its estimated 1.1 billion cubic feet of annual gas capacity.
National Iranian Oil Co. Executive Director Seif-Allah Jashn-Saz said his country was "quite ready" to meet European requests for natural gas, particularly for Nabucco.
Tehran is keen on finding new outlets for its vast gas resources. Iran sits on some of the largest gas fields in the world, but its export market is hamstrung by punitive economic sanctions over its controversial nuclear program.
Jashn-Saz, however, noted it "does not seem practical" to move ahead with the ambitious Nabucco project without Iranian gas.
Turkey, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania signed Nabucco deal in Ankara on Monday without Iran’s presence.
The pipeline is planned to pass across Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria.
The pipeline construction is to be started late 2010 and will be commissioned 2014. The project will cost 7.3 billion dollars.