Two Emirates companies to pump gas to Nabucco from N.Iraq
Hurriyet Daily News with wires
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The Western-backed Nabucco pipeline aims to lessen Europe's dependence on Russian gas and is opposed by
Two Emirates energy companies say they will partner with
Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum said the deal announced Sunday will give OMV and MOL each a 10 percent stake in the holding company that controls the Emirati firms’ natural gas operations in
OMV will pay $350 million for its share, and the cash will be reinvested into the project, the agency said adding that Crescent and Dana Gas will each take a 3 percent stake in Budapest-based MOL.
Both Crescent Petroleum and affiliate Dana Gas believe there is enough gas in the fields they operate in the northern Iraqi region to supply the pipeline after meeting local demand in northern
"We are confident that our assets in the region have the potential to produce over 3 billion cubic feet per day (cfd) by 2014," Badr Jafar, executive director for Crescent Petroleum, told Reuters.
Jafar declined to estimate how much would be available for the Nabucco project.
An industry source told Reuters that at least half could go to the pipeline. That would be enough for Nabucco's first phase, which would require around 1.5 billion cfd, according to the joint statement.
"This is the trigger source for the Nabucco project," the industry source said. "It's enough."
Around 1 billion cfd could go to
"Besides satisfying local demand, we expect there will be enough gas for the Turkish markets as well as
"The project strengthens the realization of the Nabucco pipeline aimed to increase European gas supply security," MOL Executive Vice President for Exploration and Production Zoltan Aldott told Reuters.
CLASHED WITH
The Iraqi oil ministry has criticized oil and gas contracts that the Kurdish regional officials have signed with international oil companies, calling them illegal. The region officials, who have clashed with
"We are absolutely convinced of the legal, moral and technical correctness of our investments and projects in
The project would prioritize meeting local demand ahead of exports, Jafar added.
Crescent and Dana signed a deal with the KRG in 2007 to develop the Khor Mor field quickly to supply local power plants already under construction. The field was pumping around 90 million cfd, the companies said in the statement on Sunday.
The Khor Mor field was shut in after the first Gulf War in 1991. The UAE companies also signed up to appraise and develop the Chemchemal gas field. The two fields have gas reserves of 3.6 trillion cubic feet, just over 3 percent of
The 3,300 km Nabucco pipeline was initially planned to carry Caspian gas via
OMV and MOL each have a 16.67 percent stake in Nabucco. Other stakeholders are