Sources said the project has been approved and a tender will be issued before the end of the year, even though there has been no announcement of a formal approval and there are questions in Europe over creating new energy links with Iran because of its nuclear programme.
An OMV-led consortium has been trying to finalise the proposed Nabucco pipeline to carry gas to Europe via Turkey from the Caspian Sea and Middle East, but its efforts so far to ensure adequate supplies by signing up Iran have hit political opposition.
Switzerland's
