But environmentalists and some community leaders and politicians view the pipeline, called Via Verde, or the Green Way, as unsound.
Environmentalists have worked furiously to block a pipeline, called Keystone XL, which would carry it from Canada to America.
The pipeline, called Nabucco, would carry gas from the Caspian region to the European Union through Hungary, bypassing Russia.
That would compete directly with Europe's own plan to build a pipeline called Nabucco from Turkey to Austria.
The accusations focus on how Gaz de France and E.On managed a pipeline, called Megal, which they jointly own.
Colonial also has opened up a second pipeline, called Line 2, that runs parallel to the burst line.
But European authorities continue to push plans to build a pipeline called Nabucco to deliver natural gas to Europe from the Caspian region, bypassing Russia.
In the United States there have been large protests against plans to build a 1,660-mile 1,660-milealled Keystone XL from Alberta to Texas.
Further doubts were cast over the viability of Nabucco when Gazprom proposed developing a much larger pipeline called South Stream with Eni, a major Italian energy company.
President Barack Obama has delayed the approval of a pipeline called Keystone XL, which would move Canadian oil to America's Gulf coast.
Without consulting the Poles, Mr. Schroder supported a major Russian-German gas pipeline, called Nord Stream, now being built under the Baltic Sea.
