OMV wants Iran onboard Nabucco project

"OMV has made no specific agreements with Iran; but in the long term also Iranian gas will be interesting," said Werner Auli the head of OMV Gas & Power, stressing that Iran has the second largest gas reserves of the world.

He added that The Nabucco gas pipeline project is the priority project for Europe, which will diversify routes and sources of supply, thereby increasing European energy security.

The Head of the National Iranian Gas Export Company said in February that the Nabucco gas pipeline will not be economic if Iran is not involved as it could not be filled to capacity without Iran's gas.

After years of stalling, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria finally sealed the Nabucco contract on July 13, 2009 as the first step toward building the 3,300-kilometer oil pipeline that is to break Russia's monopoly on Europe's gas supply, by transferring Caspian gas to the continent.

As they inked the agreement in the absence of a representative from Iran, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said that when 'conditions allow,' Iran should be brought into the project.

Despite the fact that Nabucco members have emphasized the importance of including Iran in the project, the US administration continues to pressure them to exclude it.


/Press TV/