Torn between two pipelines

Published on 2 October 2009 at 11:05

Nabucco, Nord Stream and South Stream were on the agenda for the Black Sea Energy Forum, organized by the American think tank, the Atlantic Council of the United States, which was held from 30 September to 2 October in Bucharest. Among the main countries concerned by the planned gas pipelines, Italy is eager to point out that Nabucco and South Stream should not be viewed as competing but complementary projects. "False!" Experts warn that there will not be "enough gas to feed all of the pipelines" — a fact which prompts România Libera to announce: "The first one completed is the winner." The quarrel has only just begun, because the Nabucco pipeline passes through 500 km of Romanian territory, for which reason Bucharest is being courted by Gazprom and its Italian partners, who want the country to take part in South Stream. "All of the countries involved in the project are playing on both teams, so as to avoid disappointment," observes the daily. Romania is apparently the first country to have received an offer of 7.3 billion cubic metres of gas from a mysterious "friendly nation" if Nabucco is completed before South Stream. The Bucharest daily notes that the offer comes hot on the heels of the signing of an energy agreement between Romania and Azerbaijan.

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