Bayerngas initially expressed an interest in joining the Nabucco project in September 2011, when it would have been the consortium’s second German partner after RWE. After a hiatus Bayerngas restarted its talks with Nabucco in May 2012, when Bayerngas spokesman Dirk Barz told Azerbaijan’s Trend News Agency that negotiations between the German utility and the Nabucco partners should be completed in 2012, adding that Nabucco “would be the best solution to bring gas from the Caspian region to Europe” (MEES, 14 May 2012).
A press release by the German gas company said that Bayerngas had decided to focus its investment on the development of intra-German gas pipelines but it is more likely that RWE’s decision to withdraw from Nabucco earlier this month influenced Bayerngas’ decision to terminate its negotiations with the consortium led by Austria’s OMV. Bayerngas’ withdrawal coincided with the announcement of Nabucco’s decision to award Saipem, an ENI subsidiary, the front end engineering and design study for the 48-inch pipeline. (CONTINUED - 292 WORDS)
