Nabucco Summit Summary

The Budapest conference kicked off with renewed interest in the wake of a dispute between Ukraine and Russia over gas arrears and contract terms, UPI.com reported.

The conference brought officials ranging from supplier nations from the Caspian to banking officials from the European Union and representatives from the potential host nations in Europe.

Philippe Maystadt, the president of the European Investment Bank, expressed interest in the project but cautioned more information would be needed to secure financing, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported Tuesday.

Azerbaijan, a potential supplier, expressed strong interest in joining the project, while Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have been less eager. Caspian suppliers need upgrades to the regional infrastructure to transit their full resource potential.

Russia and Iran did not send representatives to Budapest.

Nabucco would travel some 2,050 miles from Turkey to bring about 1.1 trillion cubic feet of gas to European customers each year. The project is seen as a means to diversify the European energy sector away from Russia.

Author: Ksenia Kochneva