Investment decision on Nabucco imminent

A FINAL investment decision (FID) on the Nabucco gas pipeline project could be taken in early 2010, according to Werner Auli, head of gas and power at OMV, the company leading the project. Speaking at an economic forum in Vienna last month, Auli said the financial structure for the €8bn ($12bn) venture could be finalised by the end of the year. FID would help the consortium overcome one of the projects biggest weaknesses: securing supply commitments to fill the 31bn cubic metres a year (cm/y) pipeline, which is designed to break Russia's stranglehold on gas exports to Europe by importing gas from the Caspian and Middle East without crossing Russian soil. "The commitment to an FID would be a