nabuc123BERLIN: RWE, Germany's number two power supplier, is in talks to sell its stake in Europe's Nabucco gas pipeline project to Austrian oil and gas giant OMV, a company spokesman said Friday.

 

"In the current situation, we are in ongoing discussions with OMV for the sale of our equity shares in the consortium," which is made up of RWE, OMV, MOL of Hungary, Romania's Transgaz, Bulgaria's Bulgargas and Botas of Turkey, the spokesman told AFP.

 

"It's highly unlikely now that our original commercial objectives can be met," he added, declining to name a possible price for RWE's stake.

 

RWE would reveal the outcome of the talks at the appropriate time, the spokesman said.

 

Originally the Nabucco project aimed to transport some 30 billion cubic metres of gas per year from the Caspian sea to Europe.

 

Originally planned to run through Turkey to Austria via Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, the 3,900-kilometre (2,400-mile) pipeline has been plagued by problems, including a lack of potential suppliers, that have repeatedly postponed the start of construction.

 

In a bid to breathe life back into the project, its shareholders have proposed a shorter, less costly pipeline, known as Nabucco West, which will transport 10-23 billion cubic metres of gas from the Bulgarian-Turkish border to Austria.

 

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2010

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