EU, Hungary, businesses push for Nabucco gas link

BUDAPEST, Sept 14 (Reuters) - European officials and business executives called on Friday for a push to build the Nabucco natural gas pipeline as the European Union needed to diversify supply and reduce its dependence on Russian imports.

"Gas is no longer a question of heating policy, this is a question of national security," Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany told an energy conference.

The 3,300-km (2,051 miles) Nabucco link, which would bring gas from the Caspian region to Central Europe, has suffered delays as its five partners are still ironing out details, particularly of the sourcing of the gas and the project's financing.

"If there's anything wrong with Nabucco, it is that it's being constructed very slowly," Gyurcsany said. "But our job is to find ... gas resources independent of Russia."

European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said Europe must open towards the Caspian region, which holds some of the world's largest gas reserves.

He told the conference that the 4.6 billion euro ($6.4 billion) pipeline would lower Europe's reliance on Russia.

"No doubt the EU is dependent on energy imports and will be more and more dependent in the future," Piebalgs said.

Analysts said Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) was likely to be a tough opponent in the effort to build the Nabucco pipeline.

"Nabucco does look on the map a little bit like a march across the enemy's front line," Patrick Heren, the Chairman on consultancy firm Heren Energy told the conference. "Gazprom is always willing to cut prices hard when it wants to."