The Nabucco pipeline (also referred as Turkey–Austria gas pipeline) was a failed natural gas pipeline project from Erzurum, Turkey to Baumgarten an der March, Austria to diversify natural gas suppliers and delivery routes for Europe. The pipeline was to lessen European dependence on Russian energy. The project was backed by several European Union states and the United States and was seen as rival to the Gazprom-Eni South Stream pipeline project. The main supplier was to be Iraq with potential supplies from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Egypt. The project was developed by a consortium of six companies. Preparations started in 2002 and the intergovernmental agreement between Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria was signed on 13 July 2009. After an announcement of the construction of TANAP, the consortium submitted the Nabucco-West project, which was to run from the Turkish-Bulgarian border to Austria. It was a modification of the original Nabucco Pipeline project. The main supply for Nabucco-West was to be the Shah Deniz gas through the now operational Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP). After the Shah Deniz consortium decided to prefer the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline over Nabucco, the Nabucco pipeline plan was finally aborted in June 2013. Motivation The Nabucco project was backed by the European Union and the United States. In the Trans-European Networks – Energy (TEN-E) programme, the Nabucco pipeline is designated as a project of strategic importance. An objective of the project is to connect the European Union better to the natural gas sources in the Caspian Sea and the Middle East regions. The project has been driven by the intention to diversify its current energy supplies, and to lessen European dependence on Russian energy—the biggest supplier of gas to Europe. The Russia–Ukraine gas disputes have been one of the factors driving the search for alternative suppliers, sources, and routes. Moreover, as per the European Commission, Europe's gas consumption is expected to increase from 502 billion cubic meters, in 2005, to 815 billion cubic meters in 2030, which would mean Russia alone would not be able to meet the demand. South Eastern Europe is important as many of the regions are heavily dependent on Russian gas imports. Nabucco aims to diversify the gas supply to increase competition and security. Simon Pirani, senior research fellow, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies presented to delegates at the Ukrainian Energy Forum in 2013 a list of prices from the Russian newspaper Izvestia: "What they show is