It was the big ...end of “Nabucco”

After the period of the researches, difficult projects and political fights the European Union is ready to refuse the Nabucco energy project which had to guarantee reliability of supply by energy carriers of EU countries and allow to avoid the dependence on deliveries from Russia.

In some weeks the capricious government of Azerbaijan will call the names of clients to whom it sell the gas stocks in the Caspian Sea and one of the main applicants, consortium Nabucco is exposed to serious risk to remain empty-handed.

According to Reuters agency data, the advantage appeared on the party of the construction project of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The consortium includes the German company E.On, the Norwegian Statoil. Italy is involved in the project also as the pipeline has to pass through the territory of Turkey, Greece and Albania with the terminal in Italy. Where Europe made a mistake? The problem arose long ago because the Nabucco gas pipeline exists only on paper. Meanwhile, the Russian rivals already started the South Stream gas pipeline construction. Other problem is connected with clients: Baku considers that the builders of TAP have more chances of success in comparison with consortium of EU.

For Brussels the refusal of the project would become the political defeat if to take into account the made efforts and million euros spent in recent years for financing of Nabucco. Reliability of deliveries and a contradiction with Russia Vladimir Putin were considered when developing strategy and rhetoric of EU. It affected the relations between Moscow and the countries of the European Union.

Certainly, Nabucco end is fine news to Putin as the South Stream gas pipeline will have one competitor less in the European markets. The Italian company Eni participates in the South Stream project too, it will be engaged in laying of pipes on a bottom of the Black Sea. Yesterday the Eni confirmed that the new gas pipeline is the reliable and favourable tool for ensuring energy security of the country.

In this war of the unions Italy has advantage in any case. The TAP project appeared one of the first documents which laid down on a table of the government. Last week the project got approval. The council of ministers unblocked the contract of 2012 on the beginning of works. It was necessary to get parliament approval.

The gas pipeline has to connect to the Italian network on Sacred Foka's coast, in Lecce's province. Technicians who seek to reduce damage to environment as much as possible believe that it will be possible to be limited to work on an land strip length only in five kilometres (the initial plan assumed a strip of the land of 22 kilometres). So, this story forces to smile not only Putin.

The only who cries during the requiem for Nabucco is the European Union.