The company is headquartered in Vienna; its managing director is Reinhard Mitschek, who will be supported by five senior representatives from each consortium partner. The consortium consists of Botas, Boru Hatlar1 ile Petrol Ta_1ma AS from Turkey, Bulgargaz EAD from Bulgaria, SNTGN Transgaz SA from Romania, MOL Natural Gas Transmission Co Ltd from Hungary, and OMV Erdgas GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of OMV AG, from Austria. The company will focus on developing a financial model for the construction of the pipeline, to design appropriate incentives for investors, to co-ordinate all marketing activities, and to enter into negotiations on transportation contracts with potential shippers. All parties agree that, with the establishment of the new company, substantial progress has been made in relation to the Nabucco feasibility study. The parties also signed a contract with London-based CBI Process & Technology, the technical general subcontractor, to study all issues concerning the design of the new pipeline route. This will accelerate the decision-making process for implementation of the project, as interim reports of the study show very promising results and highlight the need for such a pipeline project connecting the Caspian region/Middle East with Europe. The major phases of the study are scheduled to be finalized by the end of this year, and pipeline operations could commence in 2009. For all the countries involved, this new pipeline route will increase the importance of their role in gas transit to Central and Western Europe. In addition, this completely-new pipeline route opens-up a new supply route and a new choice for all gas customers in Europe. Vienna-based OMV AG has an approximately 2,000-km long gas pipeline network in Austria, as well as three gas storage facilities. Via its network, gas is supplied not only to Austria, but also to Germany, Italy, France, Slovenia, Croatia, and Hungary. As an important part of the European natural gas grid, OMV’s pipeline network also integrates the gas supply systems of these countries. Its stated plan is that, by 2008, it wants to become one of the major influential gas suppliers in Central Europe, and its growth strategy is based on three core elements: trading and marketing (with EconGas GmbH, its 50% subsidiary, founded at the end of 2002), transportation and storage, along with its own gas production.