OMV, RWE Say They Would Welcome French Nabucco Partnership
October 13 2009 - 10:48AM
Dow Jones News
Two of the partners behind the planned Nabucco gas pipeline said
Tuesday they would welcome a French company's bid to become a
seventh partner in the project.
Austria's OMV AG (OMV.VI) and Germany's RWE AG (RWE.XE) said in
a joint statement they are open to accepting a new partner into the
consortium that is to build the 3,300 kilometer-long pipeline
designed to transport gas from the Caspian region to Europe by
2014.
The statement comes after French President Nicolas Sarkozy told
the Turkish President Abdullah Guel Monday that he hopes French
companies, in particular GDF Suez SA (GSZ.FR), will be given a
chance to participate in the project.
"We are viewing the wish of France for a stake in the project
with great interest. We have always said that Nabucco is open for
any partner that is prepared to utilize its experience and strength
to see the project successfully through, RWE Chief Executive Stefan
Judisch is cited as saying in the statement.
OMV's head of its gas division, Werner Auli, said: "A possible
partnership by a French company is definitely to be welcomed."
Other current members of the Nabucco consortium are Turkey's
Botas, Bulgaria's Bulgarian Energy Holding, Romania's Transgaz and
Hungary's MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU).
-By Flemming E. Hansen, Dow Jones Newswires; +43 1 513 69 22 10;
flemming.hansen@dowjones.com