Nabucco May Get EU Nod In Coming Weeks

The Nabucco pipeline consortium expects an intergovernmental agreement and an EU exemption decision in the first quarter of this year. The planned 2,051-mile pipeline needs to win exemption from European Union antitrust rules and an agreement between the governments whose countries the pipeline will cross.
  According to a Reuters’ report, consortium Managing Director Reinhard Mitschek is optimistic a decision will come in the first quarter of this year.
  As designed, Nabucco will pump gas from the Caspian region via Turkey and the Balkans to Austria and then to Europe and reduce dependence on Russian gas.
  Russia cut off supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1, 2009 over debts, pledging supplies to western Europe would be guaranteed. But some eastern European countries have reported a fall in gas volumes. Austria has not been affected so far.
  Nabucco’s shareholders are Austria’s OMV, Hungary’s MOL, Romania’s Transgaz, Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz, Turkey’s Botas and Germany’s RWE .