Turkmenistan: Ashgabat Talking with RWE on Nabucco Supplies

RWE, the German energy concern, is "conducting intensive discussions with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan over gas supply contracts, with concrete progress on these negotiations anticipated in the first half of this year," the company said in a press release on March 5.

"Discussions between the Nabucco partners and financial institutions are also well underway, as are preparations for investigating the environmental and social impacts of the project. This year, the members of the Nabucco Consortium are going to make final decisions on financing and building the pipeline, and construction is expected to commence from 2011. The first gas from the Caspian Region should head towards Turkey and Europe by 2014/5," the statement added.

In July 2009, RWE gained explorations rights to two hydrocarbon blocks in the Turkmen portion of the Caspian Sea.