The Nabucco consortium on May 16 proposed a new pipeline to the group developing the Shah Deniz II natural gas field in Azerbaijan. The project is a downscaled version of its ambitious Nabucco natural gas pipeline project. Known as Nabucco West, the proposal tacitly suggests that the previous Nabucco project has been terminated. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan and Turkey have been in discussions over a new pipeline, called the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline, which would carry natural gas from Turkey's border with Georgia to its border with Bulgaria. It would have a capacity of approximately 17 billion cubic meters (bcm) and would cost roughly $6 billion. The new Nabucco West pipeline would be roughly one-third the length of the originally conceived pipeline and could cost about $6 billion — roughly half that of the original line. While it would have a 10-bcm capacity initially, the pipeline could be scaled up to have a 30-bcm capacity. Nabucco West is poised to become a significant competitor for a Shah Deniz consortium contract given its revised features. Even if its advantages outweigh its disadvantages, ultimately it is dependent on the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline, the future of which remains unclear. While there has yet to be an official agreement on the project, the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline is not set to be completed until 2017 — leaving plenty of time for the region's competitive environment to change.
