TBILISI, July 14 (RIA Novosti) - All Georgia's natural gas requirements will be covered by the fuel it is to receive for its role in the Nabucco gas pipeline project, the Georgian energy minister said on Tuesday.
An intergovernmental agreement on the transit of Caspian gas to Europe was signed on Monday in Turkey at a ceremony attended by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and officials from about 20 countries.
"When the Nabucco project comes on stream, Georgia will receive gas according to the 5 + 5 formula. This means Georgia will receive 5% of natural gas transported via the pipeline free of charge and another 5% at a concessional price," Alexander Khetaguri said.
The project, estimated at $7.9 billion, is designed to pump Central Asian gas via Turkey to Austria and Germany through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. The pipeline, which would bypass Russia, is planned to go on stream in 2014.
Among the potential gas suppliers for the pipeline are Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Iraq.
The project will be a continuation of the existing Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline and is to transport 31 billion cubic meters of gas a year. Two-thirds of the pipe length will pass across Turkish territory.
