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Message: EU needs to invest in Nabucco, act more in unison...
EU needs to invest in Nabucco, act more in unison
Reuters, Friday January 9 2009
By Balazs Koranyi and Krisztina Than
BUDAPEST, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The European Union has to get financially involved in the Nabucco gas pipeline to kick start the project and has to knock down the energy sector Iron Curtain that divides the continent, the Hungarian energy minister said.
Europe's long-term energy security can be achieved only if the 27-nation bloc acts as one, invests in infrastructure and shores up solidarity between its member states, Csaba Molnar told Reuters in an interview on Friday.
Molnar added that Hungary, which relies on Russia for around 70 percent of its gas needs, also has to start considering whether to build new nuclear power generating capacities.
"We need to do a whole range of things (to ensure safety of supply) but we first need pipelines, pipelines, and pipelines," Molnar said.
Hungary's natural gas supplies were cut off this week when Russia halted gas shipment over a dispute with Ukraine.
Molnar said the EU's prime responsibility was to breathe new life into the 3,300 kilometre, $12 billion Nabucco pipeline project that aimed to transport Caspian gas into Central Europe.
"What we can see is that for years this project is being prepared and prepared but nothing really happens," Molnar said. "We need to change that, the EU needs to get involved financially, at least on the level of advance financing."
"We would like ... to shift business-based financing to financing with the involvement of the EU," he added.
Nabucco, which could transport up to 30 billion cubic metres of gas a year is held by Austria's OMV, Hungary's MOL, Romania's Transgaz, Bulgaria's Bulgargaz, Turkey's Botas and Germany's RWE .
TOO MUCH TRUST IN RUSSIA, UKRAINE
Molnar said Hungary also supports the Russian North Stream and South Stream pipeline projects as they diversify supply routes but added that Hungary's trust in Russia and Ukraine may have been too great in recent years.
"This crisis has shown that perhaps our trust in Russia and Ukraine has been too great," Molnar said. "But of course, there's no business without trust."
"I firmly believe that it's not the EU's job to decide who is right in this debate... We have one task: to force the parties to meet their contractual obligations and deliver gas."
Molnar said interconnecting Europe's energy infrastructure is also key as the current east-west divisions reduce safety of supply, damage solidarity and force eastern countries to rely too heavily on Russian energy resources.
"We need to bring down the energy sector Iron Curtain that's dividing eastern and western member states. Let's knock it down," he said. "If we managed to knock down the political Iron Curtain we can bring down this economic Iron Curtain as well."
Hungary, which has few natural energy resources, also has to start thinking about constructing new nuclear power generating capacity, Molnar said.
"Hungary surely cannot afford giving up using nuclear energy in the medium-term or the long term," he said. "And in the future, we will start thinking about expanding the Paks nuclear plant."
Hungary's only nuclear generator, the Paks Nuclear Plant generates about 40 percent of the country's power needs. Hungary's Parliament has already approved a 20-year lifetime extension for the plant that will carry it beyond 2030. (Editing by James Jukwey)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/f...
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