Frequently Asked Questions

NABUCCO is a natural gas pipeline, which will run through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Austria at the interconnection point located close to Baumgarten where gas will be transmitted further on to Europe via wide European gas networks. Gas from NABUCCO will be also fed into the national transmission systems of the respective Transit States. NABUCCO aims to support Europe in achieving its strategic goal of diversifying gas supplies and boosting its ability to meet its growing energy needs.

Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH (NIC) was set up on 24 June 2004 to develop, construct and operate the Nabucco pipeline. Headquartered in Vienna, it is an unbundled midstream-company under EU law. NIC is owned by the Nabucco shareholders and is responsible overall for the development, construction, operation and capacity trading and allocation for the NABUCCO pipeline. The pipeline system will be constructed by the National Nabucco Companies (NNCs), which are subsidiaries of NIC. Nabucco´s shareholders are OMV Gas & Power GmbH (Austria), FGSZ Ltd. (Hungary), S.N.T.G.N Transgaz (Romania), Bulgarian Energy Holding (Bulgaria) and Botas (Turkey).

Initiatives will be developed through a dialogue with local groups. It is likely that additional benefit will result from employment opportunities and workers expenditure on goods and services during the construction phase.

Construction will start after the final investment decision is made and when  the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments, (ESIA) detailed engineering studies, land right acquisition process have been completed and construction permits are obtained This is expected to be approximately in 2015, and the whole pipeline will be constructed within approximately 3 years.

An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is a study conducted ahead of the construction process in order to assess the potential impacts of the project and project-related activities on the environment and where applicable, to design mitigation and define enhancement measures to avoid, remove or reduce adverse impacts to the environment. The scope of the ESIA encompasses geophysical, biological, environment and socio-economic factors.

A tendering process will be launched in order to select construction companies with sound experience in pipeline construction. Local enterprises located in the countries where NABUCCO pipeline will run can compete with international companies in the tendering process. Additionally, NABUCCO and Contractor support services will hire locally where possible, on a competitive basis.

Today’s modern technology ensures that gas pipelines can be operated in a very safe and secure way. Statistics from other pipeline suggest that the highest risks of accidents are caused by third party interference (people trying to tap the gas source), corrosion, poor weld joints and natural events. Nabucco will design and build the pipeline in accordance with the highest industry standards and the safety measures that will be in place during construction and operation will help avoiding such occurrences.

NABUCCO is committed to avoiding, minimising, mitigating or compensating any environmental or social impact in line with the local law, high recognised international standards and the conditions set out in the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and Livelihood Restoration Plan (LRP). Most of the impacts of the pipeline will be temporary and short-term. In case of herding or use of natural resources for livelihood, during construction and where possible, passageways will be constructed at strategic locations. The whole pipeline will be buried at least 1 m below the surface. Once the construction is completed, the pipe will be covered with the original top soil and the pipeline corridor fully reinstated. Only the above ground installations will be visible. Following construction, land will be returned to its original owner and use, where possible and a crop monitoring program will be implemented.

NABUCCO does not plan to acquire the land used for the pipeline, but only acquire the easement for the construction and operation (i.e. the right of way for the pipeline). NABUCCO will need to acquire land only for the above ground installations.

Compensation in line with national and internationally recognised standards will be provided to all affected and identified parties. NABUCCO is carrying out studies to identify all those landowners/ users who may be affected by the siting of the pipeline.

Disclosure of information will begin during Land Right acquisition planning. Affected persons and communities will be consulted and have the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes related to the acquisition of Land Rights (compensation packages, eligibility requirements etc). All the information will be disclosed in local languages and a grievance procedure via which people can make comments or complaints regarding the Land Right acquisition process will be in place.

During the complete life span of the project NABUCCO is committed to engaging with all identified stakeholders through regular consultations. To meet this commitment NABUCCO respects the rule of law in the countries of operation, adopt appropriate international standards and has established subsidiaries, National NABUCCO companies (NNCs) in each Transit State in order to facilitate a two way communication between NABUCCO and stakeholders. Your comments will be collected during the planning, construction and operation phase and taken into account in project decisions.

Any stakeholders can submit grievances in writing or verbally and can suggest also a grievance resolution such as suggesting corrective action. Stakeholders can also submit general comments or questions to NABUCCO regarding the Project. At a minimum, the following information must be provided: Name(s) and Surname(s), contact details (telephone number, postal address and if available e-mail). Written grievances, comments or questions can be sent by post or e-mail to the NABUCCO headquarters:

NABUCCO Gas Pipeline International GmbH
Floridsdorfer Hauptstrasse 1, 1200 Wien
Ph: +43 1 27 777 200

Please visit our website www.nabucco-pipeline.com under People & Environment / Requests & Comments or contact us on requests@nabucco-pipeline.com