Nabucco: Pick a Number, Any Number

Having checked noted bookmakers William Hill and Labrokes, it appears the gambling industry has not yet begun to offer odds on the revised price of the Nabucco gas pipeline project.

Sadly, punters do not as of yet have the ability to place bets, but one does wonder if the favorite would be:

- €7.9 billion, the original price tag;

- €14 billion estimated by BP in February of this year;

- €10 to 14 billion, quoted by EU Energy Commisioner Guenther Oettinger two weeks ago; or

- €24-26 billion figure quoted by Hungarian Minister For National DevelopmenIran aims to gain a stronger foothold in the Asian energy market by exploring options for liquefied natural gas, an energy official said.

Today, Bloomberg reports Nabucco Gas Pipeline International MD Reinhard Mitschek as saying that he eventual cost "won’t be far away" from the €7.9 billion figure.

The variation in estimates over the past few weeks, coming from what one would expect to be knowledgable sources, is quite remarkable.

There still may be time for the bookmakers to get into the act.