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Tuesday, 02 December, 2008, 00:10 GMT | more >>

South Stream timetable takes shape



By Upstream staff 

Work on the Serbian sector of the South Stream gas pipeline should start by 2012, a spokesman for Gazprom, the lead company behind the pipeline, said today.

The €10 billion ($14.65-billion) project, led by Russian gas giant Gazprom and Italy's Eni is designed to bring Siberian gas to Europe.

The deal under which Serbia joined South Stream in exchange for allowing Gazprom to buy control of Serbian oil monopoly NIS was widely seen as a politically-motivated agreement meant to thank Russia for its support on the issue of Kosovo.

The Russian and Serbian sides signed an agreement to create the joint company that will build the pipeline, Sergei Kupriyanov told Reuters in Belgrade.

"We allocate three months for the creation of the company, and another 18 months for the feasibility study," Kupriyanov said. "We expect construction to start no later than 24 months after the feasibility study has been completed."

He added that it was important to negotiate with all the countries taking part in the pipeline - so far Russia, Italy, Bulgaria and Serbia are committed, with Bosnia and Greece being possible partners - "so that the feasibility study is integrated".

A Gazprom official said South Stream was expected to start operations in 2013.

"This agreement is in the interests of Russia and Serbia and lays down the foundation for energy security in Europe," Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said.

The European Union, worried about its dependence on Russian gas, has been promoting a rival pipeline called Nabucco which would take gas from Central Asia to Europe, but has had trouble finding enough gas supply to justify the project.


Monday, 25 February, 2008, 12:27 GMT  | last updated: Monday, 25 February, 2008, 12:27 GMT

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