Nabucco startup delayed for two years, until 2017

"Construction is envisaged to commence in 2013... We now expect first gas to flow through the pipeline in 2017," Mitschek said in a statement. "The timeline had changed as a direct result of the changes in the timing for gas supplies in the Caspian and Middle East regions, as announced by potential suppliers."

European Energy Commission Gunther Oettinger remarked that Nabucco partners pinned big hopes on Azerbaijan.

The Nabucco pipeline is a planned natural gas pipeline that will transport natural gas from Turkey to Austria, via Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. It will run from Erzurum in Turkey to Baumgarten an der March, a major natural gas hub in Austria. The project is backed by the European Union and the United States. It may cost $10.7 billion.

The preparations of this project started in February 2002 when first talks took place between OMV and BOTAS. In June 2002, five companies signed a protocol of intention to construct the Nabucco pipeline, followed by the Cooperation Agreement in October 2002. In December 2003, the European Commission awarded a grant in the amount of 50% of the estimated total eligible costs of the feasibility study including market analysis, technical, economic and financial studies. On June 28, 2005, the Joint Venture Agreement was signed by five Nabucco Partners. In February 2008, RWE became a shareholder of the consortium. On June 11, 2008, the first contract to supply gas from Azerbaijan through the Nabucco pipeline to Bulgaria was signed.

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