BP expects to bring Azeri gas to Greece
BP Plc, Europe?s second-largest oil producer, is seeking equity stakes in two pipeline projects to deliver Azerbaijan?s Caspian Sea gas to Europe.
There are two competing proposals to bring Azeri gas from the Turkish border into the European Union: the Trans-Adriatic pipeline, or TAP, and the Nabucco West pipeline.
BP is leading the project to develop gas reserves at the Shah Deniz project under the Caspian Sea.
?We have reached an agreement in principle to take equity in TAP,? Al Cook, the BP vice president for Shah Deniz, said on Thursday in an interview in the Azeri capital of Baku. ?We plan to do the same with Nabucco West.?
BP will then fund the pipelines? continued development, treating both projects equally, Cook said. A final investment decision on Shah Deniz will not be taken before the middle of next year, he said. Cook said the Shah Deniz group may send the fuel to both the Italian and Southeast Europe directions after it chooses one of the two competing pipeline projects by June.
?Even if we select TAP, we will expect to be also sending smaller volumes to countries like Bulgaria,? the BP executive said. ?You can do that through either the existing or future interconnectors. Even if we select Nabucco West, we expect to exit some gas to Greece.? [Bloomberg]
