Feb 14, 2013 Our cooperation with the Shah Deniz II Consortium is ongoing, transparent and very successful. In January we signed a Cooperation Agreement and an Equity Option and Funding Agreement with the Shah Deniz partners. The latter also lays out the principles under which the Equity Option will be exercised, i.e. the Shah Deniz partners will become partners in Nabucco. The Cooperation Agreement in particular emphasizes alignment of project schedules between the Shah Deniz Consortium and the Nabucco project. This is what we are focusing on currently, as we work towards ensuring that Nabucco will be ready to transport gas when the Shah Deniz gas field is ready to deliver it. In the meantime Nabucco continues to advance in project development. In parallel with the signing of the agreements, we announced the commencement of the re-FEED for Nabucco West, which will build upon engineering work already done for the project. We have also launched the pre-qualification process for steel pipe producers for Nabucco West. We are also in the process of finalizing an overall business and funding plan for Nabucco, which will further ensure our financial viability. Our current focus is on continued alignment with the Shah Deniz II project and with TANAP, a process that is going very well. Every part of the value chain must work together and align project schedules to ensure that the delivery deadlines are met. In any case we will be ready to receive first gas flows from the Shah Deniz gas field, as soon as the exports will start.
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