REFILE-Russia-West gas pipeline race speeds up

* Russia says will complete its project first

* Baghdad rejects Kurdish region's gas deal with UAE firms

* Baghdad says to supply Europe from another field

(Refiles to replace a garbled, incomplete version that was issued in error and withdrawn [nLI361145])

By Simon Webb

DUBAI, May 18 (Reuters) - The race to build new gas pipelines to Europe accelerated on Monday as Russia, keen to maintain its grip on the continent's market, said it would finish its scheme before a rival EU-backed project.

The West's Nabucco pipeline secured a deal at the weekend to obtain gas from Iraq's Kurdistan region, to help cut dependence on Russia's gas supply, but the central government in Baghdad on Monday voiced opposition to the agreement.

"I consider South Stream to have every chance of being realised earlier than Nabucco," Russia's Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko told reporters on Monday, speaking of the Moscow-backed pipeline plan.

"Nabucco has a range of issues which still need to be resolved."

Russia signed deals on Friday to accelerate South Stream, due to start in 2015. It also rebuked the United States and former Soviet satellite nations for backing Nabucco.

Moscow, with the world's largest gas reserves, had the edge until this week. The European Union relies on Russia for around a quarter of its gas.

Nabucco had political backing but little gas to sell until two of its shareholders, Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI) and Hungary's MOL MOLB.BU joined up with the United Arab Emirates Crescent and Dana Gas DANA.AD to source supply from Iraq's Kurdistan.

This project could now supply enough gas to kick-start the project and supply Europe by 2014. [ID:nSP496384]

"It's an important and promising development for the acquisition of a huge volume of natural gas for Turkey and for Europe via Nabucco," Nabucco Managing Director Reinhard Mitschek said of the deal.

The existing timetable would put Nabucco supplies a year ahead of South Stream.