Baku News

13 March 2008 - Prime-TASS - Russia's Foreign Ministry: "Azerbaijan's hydrocarbon reserves are large but not sufficient to ensure pumping of 20-30 billion cubic meters of gas per year by the Nabucco gas pipeline" "Nabucco project is possible but prospects of its filling with gas are unclear". The due announcement was made by Andrei Denisov, first deputy foreign minister of Russia. "Nabucco project is possible", he said "However, prospects of its filling with gas are unclear, while they must be guaranteed". "Such technical constructions should not be built at random", the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "Three potential gas suppliers, including Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan, are considered for Nabucco", he went on "Azerbaijan's hydrocarbon reserves are large but not sufficient to ensure pumping of 20-30 billion cubic meters of gas per year by the Nabucco gas pipeline, while lower capacities are senseless". "Iran is the second after Russia for its gas reserves, which should however be explored and revealed and the due infrastructure must be created. This requires tens of billions of dollars", Denisov announced. "Nabucco is possible only in the future", he said in his interview to Vremya Novostey newspaper. "It is favorable for Turkmenistan to pump gas by existent routes". "Favorable conditions Russia will create for it as a transit country depends on us", Denisov noted "Gas reserves of Turkmenistan should be estimated considering the fact that the country has already undertaken responsibility to supply gas to its neighbor-countries".