By Gergo Racz
BUDAPEST--Hungarian energy group MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU) is still
withholding financing from the Nabucco natural gas pipeline venture
and is ready to see its share in the implementation consortium
reduced, the company said Thursday.
MOL, represented in the Nabucco venture through its natural gas
distribution arm FGSZ Zrt., said this year that it would no longer
fund the Nabucco initiative unless the concept is reconsidered and
a supply of natural gas is secured to pump into the pipeline once
it is built.
Having skipped the latest quarterly financing contribution,
FGSZ's share in the consortium dropped 2% and the company's Chief
Executive Janos Zsuga told daily Magyar Nemzet that its stake may
soon diminish further.
Mr. Zsuga is quoted as saying that the fate of the
Nabucco--planned to deliver Caspian natural gas to central
Europe--is likely to be sealed next summer when Azerbaijan decides
if it will pick the Nabucco offer to deliver its natural gas from
the Shah Deniz II field. Mr. Zsuga added that the Azeri field is
the only realistically available source of gas for the project.
Write to Gergo Racz at gergo.racz@dowjones.com
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