The consortium responsible for the setting up of Nabucco natural gas pipeline through Europe has failed reaching an agreement on project funding.

International Herald Tribune (IHT) reported that Nabucco came under threat because of a similar project. Nabucco’s main aim is to decrease EU’s energy dependence on Russia and to diversify energy sources.

Russia’s Gazprom recently announced that work on a similar project was starting.

“The Nabucco project seems to be losing momentum, as it runs behind schedule and over budget,” IHT reported.

Representatives of the energy companies in the Nabucco consortium said that no agreement has been reached yet. Nabucco has participants from Austria, Turkey, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

Nabucco is supposed to be a 3300km pipeline, transporting gas from Azerbaijan to Europe through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria. Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan also announced willingness to participate.

IHT reported that consortium is searching for another funding partner. To carry out the project, it will also need loans that may come from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).