Pipeliners

BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 19, 2009 (UPI) -- Turkish officials delayed the signing of intergovernmental agreements for the Nabucco gas pipeline but promised a move as early as July. The Nabucco gas pipeline consortium has not set a firm date for the signing of an agreement on the $10.7 billion project. It was expected Ankara would host a signing meeting Thursday, but Turkish energy officials have delayed that for another month, the Trend news agency reports. Mihaly Bayer, the Hungarian envoy to the project company, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, had complained over the slow process on the agreements but joined Turkish officials saying agreements would be reached soon. Applications from potential suppliers would follow the signing of the intergovernmental agreement, with financing moving ahead in 2010. Nabucco would travel 2,050 miles from the Caspian Sea through Turkey north to European markets. Europe sees the project as a means to diversify the regional energy sector, which is dependent on Russian natural resources. The project faces obstacles because of a lack of firm commitments from potential supplier nations, while Turkish demands for discounts delayed a pending meeting on the pipeline.