EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Nabucco project, designed to cut the dependence of energy-hungry Europe on Russian gas, will reach an important milestone later today (13 July) as EU governments and Turkey are set to sign a key transit pact. "The signature will show that we are determined to make the Nabucco pipeline a reality as quickly as possible," European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said ahead of the signing ceremony, which would effectively end six months of intense negotiations on the use of the pipeline. Nabucco could supply up to 5-10% of the EU's gas demand, the European Commission says The 3,300-kilometer pipeline is expected to run between the Caspian Sea region and Austria, crossing Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. Ankara, for its part, wanted to take 15 percent of the gas flowing through Nabucco at a discounted price for internal consumption or even for re-exportation, but was not granted this. The Nabucco's entire capacity amounts to 31 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Nabucco project, designed to cut the dependence of energy-hungry Europe on Russian gas, will reach an important milestone later today (13 July) as EU governments and Turkey are set to sign a key transit pact.
"The signature will show that we are determined to make the Nabucco pipeline a reality as quickly as possible," European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said ahead of the signing ceremony, which would effectively end six months of intense negotiations on the use of the pipeline.
Nabucco could supply up to 5-10% of the EU's gas demand, the European Commission says
The 3,300-kilometer pipeline is expected to run between the Caspian Sea region and Austria, crossing Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.
Ankara, for its part, wanted to take 15 percent of the gas flowing through Nabucco at a discounted price for internal consumption or even for re-exportation, but was not granted this.
The Nabucco's entire capacity amounts to 31 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year.
designed to cut the dependence of energy-hungry Europe on Russian gas,
So many assumptions encapsulated in those few words.
Europe is here defined as "energy-hungry". Try writing "energy-thrifty Europe" instead. What happens to the Nabucco "design"?
Next, it's said that Europe is dependent on gas. How about reducing the proportion of gas in the energy mix? That means investing in renewables and smart networks, not in gas pipelines. What then happens to the Nabucco "design"?
And "Russian"? If Europe has to worry about specific dependence on Russia for gas supplies, the first two points apply. Use less energy, use less gas in the energy mix. And thirdly, don't invest in pipelines from unstable areas that are unlikely ever to supply the full volume... without a helping hand from Russia.
Some "design".
