Turkey and Austria sign gas pipeline deal

An agreement has been signed for a pipeline to transport natural gas from Turkey to Austria, with firms from five countries taking part in the project, the Turkish Energy Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The 3,400-kilometre-long pipeline has an estimated cost of 4.6 billion euros (US$5.9 billion) and is scheduled to come on line in 2011.

The agreement, bringing Turkish pipeline operator Botas, Bulgarian company Bulgargaz, Romania's Transgaz, MOL of Hungary and Austria's OMV, has been signed in Vienna, Austria, said the ministry.

The ministry added that the five companies will construct and operate the Nabucco pipeline project , with each having a 20 percent share in the project.

The gas is likely to come from a number of sources in the region, including Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Egypt, Iraq and Syria.