Competition between Gazprom and Nabucco reaches fever pitch

Most experts believe that the wrestling match between the Russian gas giant, Gazprom and the European Nabucco has reached a febrile point. Nabucco has resorted to making more combative statements - a sign of panic.

For now, the statements are limited to intentions. The latest information about the Nabucco project came from Ankara- the capital of Turkey. The participants in the meeting of the executive committee of the project have agreed to modify the concept of the line of the supply of gas; two lines have been touted: the Turkey-Georgian line and the Turkey-Iraq border.

Gas from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iraq is supposed to be pumped through the two lines.

The 3rd line-the Iran-Turkey one has been rejected because of the existing political situation, by which is meant the UN sanctions on Tehran. Some people have already said that the rejection of Iran’s gas has put paid to the entire Nabucco project.

But the participants in the Ankara meeting are upbeat about the Nabucco project. “Nabucco has many sources of getting gas and will not rely on a single one”, they chanted at the end of their meeting.

According to Valery Nesterov- an oil and gas expert, the optimism of the participants in the Ankara meeting is predicated more upon politics than on realities.

Nothing extraordinary has happened; it was a mere political ploy, Nesterov says. There are many ambiguities in the Nabucco project; the only thing that is clear is that the project has a powerful political backing plus serious shareholders, said Nesterov. A kind of cardinal decision may be taken this year on the project, or may be postponed. On the whole though, the future of the Russian South Stream project looks more promising, said Nesterov.

Be that  as it my, the EU regards Nabucco as a priority, and just recently, the EU Commissioner for energy, Gunther Oettinger said inter alia: “Nabucco, which is a  priority for us, will be implemented”.

On the other hand, the EU is having a crisis of tardiness. The Azeri President, Ilkham Aliyev says that the EU should adopt a more serious attitude to the Nabucco-Gazprom competition  and  when in July, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel visited  Kazakhstan, the  Kazakh head of state, Nursultan Nazabayev almost angrily said that Europeans talk much about Nabucco, but are short on delivery, meaning that they do not put their money where their mouths are.

In a  word, the Nabucco project remains within the realm of a political war of words.