The first deliveries of natural gas from Central Asia to Europe via the proposed $10.6 billion Nabucco pipeline would begin in 2018 and not 2017 as planned, according to OMV Chief Executive Officer Gerhard Roiss.
“That’s the information we have currently,” said Roiss, now on tour in Central Asia this week to discuss possible supply agreements for Nabucco, which is meant to free Europe off its dependency on Russia for gas.
Construction of the 4,000-km Nabucco line is scheduled to start in 2013, with the aim of transporting gas from Caspian and Central Asia region to Austria via Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary.
OMV is one of six equal-share partners in Nabucco alongside Bulgaria's BEH, Hungary's MOL, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish BOTAS, and RWE from Germany.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].