UAE Firms in $8b Iraqi Gas Project

SHARJAH - A new bloc of European and UAE energy firms unveiled an $8 billion plan on Sunday to pump enough gas from Iraq’s Kurdistan to kickstart the Nabucco pipeline project and reduce Europe’s reliance on Russia.

Until now, the $10 billion Nabucco pipeline scheme had plenty of willing gas buyers in Europe, but little to sell. Europe imports a quarter of its gas from Russia and has backed Nabucco to help cut that dependence.

Gas from the semi-autonomous northern region of Iraq could help solve the Nabucco supply conundrum.

The United Arab Emirates’ Crescent Petroleum and affiliate Dana Gas believe there is enough gas in the fields they operate in the Kurdistan region to supply the pipeline after meeting local demand in northern Iraq and Turkey.

Austria’s OMV and Hungary’s MOL, two of Nabucco’s initial shareholders, have bought into the $8 billion scheme. They have joined forces with Crescent and Dana to take on the gas development plan, the companies first told Reuters in interviews and a joint statement on Sunday.

“We are confident that our assets in the region have the potential to produce over 3 billion cubic feet per day by 2014,� Badr Jafar, executive director for Crescent Petroleum, told Reuters.

Jafar declined to estimate how much would be available for the Nabucco project. An industry source told Reuters that at least half could go to the pipeline. That would be enough for Nabucco’s first phase, which would require around 1.5 billion cfd, according to the joint statement.

“This is the trigger source for the Nabucco project,� the industry source said. “It’s enough.�

Around 1 billion cfd could go to Turkey after meeting local needs, the industry source said. Iraqi demand was likely to be less than 500 million cfd initially, leaving the rest for the pipeline, he added.

“Besides satisfying local demand, we expect there will be enough gas for the Turkish markets as well as Europe via the planned Nabucco pipeline,� Helmut Langanger, OMV Executive Vice-president of exploration and production said.