Nabucco Gas Pipeline International Ltd., an international consortium planning and constructing one of the most important European infrastructure projects for securing natural gas supply, today announced that RWE Gas Midstream had joined as the sixth strategic partner. Today, February 5, 2008, all partners signed the relevant agreements in Vienna. The consortium now consists of OMV Gas International, MOL (Hungary), Bulgargaz (Bulgaria), Transgaz (Romania), Botas (Turkey) and RWE Gas Midstream (headquartered in Essen, Germany). Every company holds a stake of 16.67 percent of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International Ltd.

RWE Gas Midstream is an ideal strategic partner for the Nabucco Project. RWE is active along the entire value chain for gas and aims to link its Upstream and Midstream business segments more strongly. The Caspian Region is prime focus for RWE Dea and RWE Gas Midstream – they plan to both strengthen and launch activities for exploring, producing and transporting gas in this region. With more than 10 million gas customers in South-Eastern, Central and North-Western Europe, RWE's production activities make it a reliable purchaser for the gas that in future will be transported via Nabucco.

Stefan Judisch, CEO of RWE Gas Midstream, commented: "We are delighted that the Nabucco consortium has accepted us as sixth equal partner. For us this pipeline project is an important cornerstone in our growth strategy of natural gas. We are convinced that Nabucco will increase Europe's security of supply for natural gas. The new pipeline will directly connect the gas producing countries in the Caspian region with customer bases in Central and Western Europe."

Werner Auli, OMV Executive Board member responsible for natural gas, commented: “With RWE AG as a new partner, we are now superbly positioned from a strategic point of view to further advance this project – which is so important for Europe’s natural gas supply. The consortium now not only includes the most important suppliers of natural gas in the countries that the Nabucco Pipeline will go through, but also one large Western European supplier.” In Auli’s view the consortium perfectly reflects the importance of this European pioneer project.

Reinhard Mitschek, Managing Director of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH, commented: "Being able to welcome RWE as a new partner is an important signal for the entire European gas market. The increased energy demand in Europe makes the development of additional gas wells necessary; the Nabucco pipeline creates the condition for this. With the pipeline due to cross many borders, this is a sustainable project integrating the energy industry."

Pioneer project for securing Europe’s natural gas supply
Experts estimate that in the next 20 years Europe’s annual consumption of natural gas will increase from approximately 500 bcm to almost 800 bcm. For this reason the Nabucco project has been classified as one of the central infrastructure projects for strengthening Europe's security of supply for natural gas, as it makes a considerable contribution in expanding supply routes.

The Nabucco project at a glance
Nabucco makes a central contribution to Europe's security of supply – making new gas deposits in the Caspian region accessible to European customers and stimulating competition in the international gas market. With a length of over 3,300 km, the Nabucco gas pipeline will go from Turkey via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Baumgarten near Vienna and will connect the substantial natural gas deposits of the Caspian Region, the Near and Middle East and other regions with European markets. OMV, MOL, Transgaz, Bulgargaz Holding, BOTAS and RWE currently are the project's shareholders. When completed, the pipeline’s annual capacity will be 31 bcm.