Half of Nabucco gas pipe capacity to be sold soon

ISTANBUL, June 26 (Reuters) - Over half of the capacity that will eventually be available to flow gas into Europe through the planned Nabucco pipeline will be offered to third parties in the next few months, one of the project leaders said on Tuesday.

The five European gas companies behind the 4.6 billion euro ($6.19 billion) project to bring Iranian and Caspian gas to Europe will share the first 15 billion cubic metres of capacity available through the pipeline.

Another 16 bcm a year will be offered to interested bidders before the end of the year, Johann Gallisti, vice president of the Nabucco Gas Pipeline International told reporters at a conference in Istanbul.

"We would like to start the open season process and we would like to establish the national Nabucco companies and this will be finalised in the coming weeks and months," he said.

The pipeline will eventually be able to carry 31 bcm a year of gas from producers in Central Asia to big consuming countries in Europe. But that will be impossible until after the second phase is completed at the end of 2013, according to the project website.

The 2,000-km first phase of the pipeline between Ankara in Turkey and Baumgarten in Austria will only offer 8 bcm from 2012, to be shared amoung the five companies behind the project -- Bulgaria's Bulgargaz, Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI), Hungary's MOL MOLB.BU, Turkey's Botas and Romania's Transgaz.

The European Union sees Nabucco as a key supply route which should reduce the bloc's reliance on Russian gas after winter supply cuts to Europe.

Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and Italy's Eni (ENI.MI) announced a rival pipeline last weekend that some see as a threat to Nabucco. Both Russia and Nabucco's backers deny that one plan jeopardises the other.

The second phase of Nabucco will run from 2012 until end 2013 and will see another section of pipeline run from the Turkish border to Georgia and Iran.

The project may need to tap the Middle Eastern country's vast gas reserves to deliver the full 31 bcm a year of gas and Gallisti is hopeful current tensions between Iran and the West will die down by the time the line is ready.

"We expect at a later stage in time that the problems with Iran will be solved and Iranian gas will flow to Europe," he said.