Nabucco Treaty Talks Launched

摘要

Hungary's ministry of economy and transport formally delivered the draft intergovernmental agreement on the Nabucco gas pipeline project to the ambassadors of the affected countries February 19, the ministry said in a statement.rnAt a February 5 ministerial meeting in Vienna, held in conjunction with a signing ceremony to bring in German energy major RWE as the sixth partner in the Nabucco consortium, Hungary took on the operational tasks related to finalizing the Nabucco IGA. Hungary is also to "organize the necessary negotiations in order to conclude the agreement as soon as possible," the statement said.rnThe planned 3,300 km Nabucco pipeline, foreseen with capacity of 31 billion cubic meters per year, is designed to bring gas from the Caspian region and Middle East to Austria's Baumgarten gas hub via Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. Construction is set to start in 2010, with the first gas deliveries in 2013. EU leaders have designated it a priority EU project.