Nabucco Gas Pipeline International Ltd., an international consortium planning and constructing one of the most important European infrastructure projects for securing natural gas supply, announced today that German RWE Gas Midstream had joined as the sixth strategic partner. On 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), each holding a stake of 16.67 percent of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International Ltd.

"We are delighted that the Nabucco consortium has accepted us as sixth equal partner. For us this pipeline project is an important milestone 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", Stefan Judisch, CEO of RWE Gas Midstream said.

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.

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 Middle East and other regions with European markets. OMV, MOL, Transgaz, Bulgargaz Holding, BOTAS and RWE currently are the project`s shareholders. The pipeline`s annual capacity will be 31 bcm. Construction will start in 2009 and put into commission in 2012.