The National: OMV turns towards upstream after Nabucco rejection

A long-held pipeline dream last week came to an end for OMV, the Austrian oil and gas company that is part-owned by Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Company.

The Nabucco pipeline project, and ambitious project to link the Shah Deniz gasfield in Azerbaijan to the European market, was rejected in favour of a rival pipeline.

The decision could have been expected to be a major blow for OMV, the leading company on the project. In fact, the pipeline had been subject to a decade of intense political wrangling and downsizing.

Its failure could hardly have surprised the company. Instead, it may give OMV more certainty on its future investment strategy.    MORE