BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19 (UPI) -- The consortium managing the Nabucco natural gas pipeline expects financial investment decisions soon but it depends on supply agreements, a director said.
Europe aims to break the Russian grip on the regional energy sector by moving non-Russian natural gas supplies through the planned Nabucco pipeline.
Christian Dolezal, a spokesman for the pipeline consortium, said at an energy conference in Azerbaijan that this is a key year for the project.
"We expect to take a final investment decision on the project by late 2011," he was quoted by the Trend news agency as saying. "However, all will depend on suppliers."
The Nabucco consortium estimates the 2,000-mile pipeline will cost around $10.7 billion to build.
The European government reached a recent agreement with Baku for Azeri gas to meet some of Nabucco's capacity, which project leaders said was a positive sign.
The project enjoys widespread political support from European member states despite Russia moving ahead with its rival Nord Stream and South Stream projects that avoid politically sensitive transit networks in Ukraine.
Nabucco could start moving gas by the end of 2015.
