Baumgarten an der March is a small subdivision of the municipality of Weiden an der March

Weiden an der March

Weiden an der March is a municipality in the district of Gänserndorf in Lower Austria, Austria.19.3% of the municipality is forested.- Subdivisions :* Baumgarten an der March* Oberweiden* Zwerndorf- History :...

 in Lower Austria

Lower Austria

Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. It has only 192 inhabitants.

It is a location of the Central European Gas Hub

Central European Gas Hub

Central European Gas Hub AG is a natural gas company in Austria. It was founded in 2000...

. Since the 1970s, it has served a major transit point for the Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n natural gas imported by Western Europe

Western Europe

Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...

; approximately one third of all gas exports from Russia to Western Europe pass through the OMV

OMV

OMV is Austria's largest oil-producing, refining and gas station operating company with important activities in other Central European countries...

 natural gas junction in Baumgarten. Baumgarten lies at the eastern end of the 380 kilometres (236.1 mi) long Trans Austria Gas Pipeline

Trans Austria Gas Pipeline

The Trans Austria Gas pipeline is a natural gas pipeline that leads from the Slovak-Austrian border at Baumgarten an der March to Arnoldstein in the south, near the border with Italy. Natural gas originating from Russia is transported to and used in Italy and Austria...

 (TAG) that traverses Austria from north to south. Exhausted gas fields in the area are now used for underground storage

Natural gas storage

Natural gas, like many other commodities, can be stored for an indefinite period of time in natural gas storage facilities for later consumption.- Usage :...

 of large quantities of natural gas needed to compensate for fluctuations between winter and summer demand.

Baumgarten's role as a natural gas hub will increase further with the construction of the Nabucco Pipeline

Nabucco Pipeline

The Nabucco pipeline is a proposed natural gas pipeline from Erzurum in Turkey to Baumgarten an der March in Austria diversifying natural gas suppliers and delivery routes for Europe. The pipeline attempts to lessen European dependence on Russian energy...

. This project will connect Baumgarten in Austria with the eastern border of Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 allowing for natural gas to be imported from the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 and the Caspian region to Western Europe.