Nabucco Pipeline: Preliminary Engineering Work Begins

Technical work on the proposed Nabucco gas pipeline is entering an "intensive phase," according to the pipeline consortium's chief.

Reinhard Mitschek, the managing director of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, said in a May 12 statement that five design companies are currently tackling assorted engineering challenges. "These local firms are currently evaluating and investigating all technical details of the entire pipeline route to realize the necessary detailed planning," the statement said.

The results of the engineering study "will be the prerequisite for the official approvals, the output and quality specifications and for negotiations with gas suppliers. In addition, the analysis is a substantial part of the environmental and social impact evaluation, in which the financing institutions are involved from the start," the statement added.

The Nabucco pipeline proposes to pump 31 billion cubic meters of Caspian Basin gas to Europe via Turkey along a 3,300-km route.