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European Commission to offer 200 bln euro in aid for Nabucco

05 March 2010 11:46 (UTC +04:00)

GÃ¼nther Oettinger, the blocâ€™s commissioner for energy, pledged 200 million euros ($273 million) for a pipeline that would start delivering gas by around 2015 from the Caspian Sea region, bypassing Russia and Ukraine.

It was the first time the commission had offered money for the construction phase of a gas pipeline. Mr. Oettinger said the offer, which was presented as part of a package of energy infrastructure projects worth 2.3 billion euros, was a â€œmilestoneâ€ for European energy policy.

The pipeline, known as the Nabucco project, would stretch more than 2,000 miles, or 3,220 kilometers, from Turkey across Bulgaria and Romania and into Austria. The project has significant strategic implications for Europe, which is seeking to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.

Mr. Oettinger emphasized that the companies backing Nabucco, including R.W.E. of Germany and O.M.V. of Austria, needed to make a decision by autumn on whether to go forward, or to use the money for other projects.

The total cost of the Nabucco project is estimated at 8 billion euros ($10.9 billion, or about 40 times more than the sum pledged Thursday. But Mr. Oettinger said the money still represented a â€œtrump card on the tableâ€ for Nabucco.