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Italian Industry Minister: Europe gas link plans may be incompatible

24 January 2011 13:14 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. Projects for gas supply pipelines into Europe are unlikely to be all compatible and Italy, France and Germany are due to meet in coming months to discuss supply plans, Italy’s industry minister said on Friday, Reuters Africa reported.

Several new projects are being developed to pipe gas from resource-rich regions including central Asia and North Africa as utilities look to diversify supply following the 2009 Russia-Ukraine gas row which cut supplies into Europe by a fifth at the height of winter. [ID:nLDE6AE0KR]

But there is a uncertainty over how efficiently the pipelines will operate together, Italian Industry Minister Paolo Romani said at a news conference following a meeting with his French counterpart Eric Besson.

"These installations are being supported by European financing and therefore a definitive agreement between the major countries is needed," he said.

He said projects including the Nabucco link to transport gas to Europe from the Caspian and Middle East, Russia’s South Stream project to supply gas under the Black Sea, and the Interconnector Turkey Greece Italy (ITGI) should be discussed.

"Probably not all of these projects are compatible with each other," Romani said.

The European Union has encouraged pipeline project plans to help diversify its supplies and curb its dependence on Russia, its biggest supplier, but also an occasional political rival.

All major pipeline projects face the threat of weaker future demand, with the Paris-based International Energy Agency warning that Europe’s debt crisis might push demand back to 1999 levels. (Reporting by Catherine Hornby and Alberto Sisto)