The legal framework for the Nabucco Pipeline has been finalised with the signing – in Kayseri, Turkey – of the Project Support Agreements (PSAs) between NABUCCO Gas Pipeline International GmbH and the responsible ministries of the five transit countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey).
The PSAs are bilateral, legal agreements specific to and between the Nabucco Companies and the government of each transit country. They represent a significant step in the advanced development stage of the Nabucco Pipeline. The main elements of the PSAs are the affirmation of an advantageous regulatory transit regime under EU and Turkish energy law; the protection of the Nabucco Pipeline from potential discriminatory changes in the law; and support for legislative and administrative actions for the further implementation of the project. The PSAs also mark a commitment by each government to support the project.
Together with the Intergovernmental Agreement, the PSAs are a necessary prerequisite for the successful financing of the project. They create the stable, long-term regulatory regime, which is required by the group of international lenders to secure the financing of one of the largest single gas transmission projects worldwide.
Reinhardt Mitschek, Managing Director, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH, commented: “ The signing of the PSAs is a further vital milestone for our project and cements our partnership with the governments of the transit countries. Today also marks the first meeting of the Nabucco Political Committee, which will ensure effective coordination between the transit countries. We are satisfied with the unique solid basis of the project and welcome the support the project is receiving from both political and financial quarters. Nabucco symbolises the future of global energy cooperation; connecting businesses, consumers, countries, and cultures and will ensure diversity and security of supply for many decades to come .”
Werner Auli, Chairman of the Nabucco Steering Committee and Head of Gas & Power at OMV , commented: “ The shareholders are strongly committed to the Nabucco pipeline and we are confident about the project’s encouraging progress to date. Demand for gas in Europe is expected to rise considerably in the next decade and the Nabucco pipeline will be the preferred transportation method for gas suppliers in the Caspian Region. The negotiations with suppliers are going well and the interest in Nabucco is getting stronger every day .”
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Source: Nabucco Pipeline, June 10, 2011;