A final decision on whether to go ahead with the Nabucco gas pipeline project will be made by the end of this year, European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said Friday.

"This question has to be decided over the next nine months," Oettinger said. He added there is interest in the project from countries such as Italy , Bulgaria and Greece , as well from energy companies in Austria and Germany .

"The companies have to decide by the end of the year and will do it based on an analysis of the long-term development of the gas market in the European Union," Oettinger said.

"I think there is a chance of more infrastructure in the southern corridor," he added, speaking on the sidelines of the official launch of the construction of the rival Nord Stream pipeline, which will ship natural gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea . Nord Stream is led by Russian gas monopoly Gazprom OAO (GAZP.RS).

The Nabucco gas pipeline is considered crucial to secure Europe 's growing demand for natural gas as domestic supply is steadily falling. The pipeline, with a planned capacity of up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas a year, would further diversify Europe 's supply sources, bypassing traditional pipeline routes for Russian gas.

The 3,300-kilometer Nabucco pipeline is slated to transport natural gas from the Caspian region to Central Europe via Turkey and Austria .

The Nabucco consortium comprises Germany 's RWE AG (RWE.XE), Austria 's OMV AG (OMV.VI), Hungary 's MOL Nyrt (MOL.BU), Transgaz of Romania, Bulgargaz of Bulgaria and Botas of Turkey. Each of the shareholders owns a 16.67% stake in the consortium.

The consortium has said it expects a final investment decision to be made over the course of 2010, with construction of the pipeline expected to begin in 2011. Under the consortium's plans, gas will start flowing through the pipeline in 2014.

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