Partnership Of Gaz De France To Nabucco Project Postponed

ANKARA - Partnership of the "Gaz De France" to the Nabucco Project envisaging construction of a pipeline to transport Azerbaijani and Iranian natural gas to Europe through Turkey, has been suspended for a while.
Sources said that Omv of Austria, Mol of Hungary, Bulgargaz of Bulgaria and Transgaz of Romania accepted Gaz de France`s becoming the 6th partner of the project while Petroleum Pipeline Cort (BOTAS) of Turkey put reservations.
Approval of a bill on so-called Armenian genocide by the French parliament last year influenced the Turkish party`s decision.
Meanwhile, construction of the 3,300 km-kilometre pipeline is expected to begin in 2008 and is planned to be finished in 2012.
The construction is estimated to cost 4.6 billion euro. The cost is to be shared among the five gas companies in each of the countries.
The transport capacity of the pipeline will reach up to 25.5 billion cubic meters per year in the long term, around or after 2020.