Prague - The European Union is currently promoting three projects to build natural-gas pipelines from Central Asia and the Middle East in a bid to reduce its dependency on Russian gas.

Known respectively as ITGI, Nabucco and White Stream, the three projects are run by commercial firms, but have been tipped as priorities by European political leaders and are set to be the subject of top-level talks at a summit in Prague on Friday.

ITGI - Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy - is backed by energy firms Edison of Italy and Depa of Greece. It is to carry Caspian gas piped through Turkey 800 kilometres across Greece to Italy.

The companies say that it should open in 2012 and carry up to 8 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year. The EU has pledged 100 million euros (134 million dollars) towards a total estimated cost of 500 million euros.

Nabucco, backed by major energy companies in Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria and Germany, is intended to carry gas from Azerbaijan through Turkey into the EU as far as Austria.

Backers say that the 3,300-kilometre pipeline, which is tipped to cost some 7.9 billion euros, could ultimately also carry gas from Iran and Iraq. The pipeline is planned to carry an initial load of 8 bcm per year when it comes online in 2014, but to quadruple that figure by the end of the decade.

The EU has pledged 200 million euros to support the project.

White Stream, which would carry gas under the Black Sea from Georgia to Ukraine or directly to EU member Romania, is set to carry 8 bcm as an initial load when it comes online in 2016, but is again predicted to quadruple that volume by 2030.

Energy experts point out that all three projects face competition from Russia's Gazprom, which is currently planning its so-called South Stream pipeline directly from Russia to Austria and Italy.

The project is backed by Gazprom and Italy's ENI. While the EU has not criticized the idea, it has so far refused to support it, arguing that it would not give the bloc access to a new supply of gas.(dpa)