ALPBACH, Austria, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The consortium buildingthe Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany expects tocomplete the project on schedule in early 2020 or before,Austrian energy firm OMV said on Thursday, afterspeculation that it could face months of delays.
Rainer Seele, chief executive of OMV, one of the investors,said more than 75% of the project had been carried out but thecompletion timing would depend on securing Danish approval forthe pipeline to cross its waters of the Baltic Sea.
"The Nord Stream 2 company has clearly informed us that itis sticking to the schedule and the budget, and we have noreason to revise the plan in any way today," he said when askedif a launch at the end of 2019 or early 2020 was realistic.
"What will be decisive is when the Danish authorities makethe decision, and what decision they will make," said Seele, whowas speaking at an economic event in Austria, adding it onlytook a few weeks to build the Danish section.
The project, led by Russia's state-owned Gazprom,has had applications pending with the Danish authorities sinceApril 2017 seeking approval to lay between 147 km and 175 km (90miles and 109 miles) in Denmark's Baltic waters.
Denmark has been caught up in the political row betweenGermany, which backs the pipeline, and the United States andother European states which oppose the project because they sayit will deepen European reliance on Russian gas.(Reporting by Kirsti KnolleEditing by Tassilo Hummel and Edmund Blair)