The main purpose of D´Appolonia’s appointment is to ensure the successful completion of an integrated project environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA), fulfilling the requirements of the international financial institutions (European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Finance Corporation) and complying with national and European legislation.

As such, D’Appolonia will be responsible for ensuring consistency between the national or “in-country” environmental impact assessments and the project-wide ESIA, as well as for the harmonisation of both the proponent’s and the international financial institutions' standards and requirements, as confirmed in the Project Support Agreements in June. More specifically, D’Appolonia will produce all the necessary documentation for the project-wide ESIA.

As Nabucco Gas Pipeline International’s (NIC’s) advisor, D’Appolonia will ensure consistency between NIC and the national Nabucco companies, which are subsidiaries of NIC in each of the transit countries.

D’Appolonia will implement the necessary management systems – such as the project stakeholder engagement documents, the land acquisition and compensation action plans, and the project environmental and social management plans – both at project level and in-country. This will be coordinated in-country and at project level by dedicated teams who will advise the national Nabucco companies and local front-end engineering and design engineers in all environmental and social related matters associated with the completion of the country Assessments and relevant management plans.

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The Nabucco Pipeline is a 3,900 km, 56 inch diameter pipeline which will directly connect the Caspian region and the Middle East to the European consumer markets. The pipeline will link the eastern border of Turkey, to Baumgarten in Austria via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.

Project shareholders include Bulgarian Energy Holding, Botas, MOL, OMV Gas & Power, RWE, and Transgaz, with each holding an equal share of 16.67 per cent of NIC.