Miller: Gazprom proposes to stop South Stream in Italy without the line to Austria

Gazprom Plc. proposes to complete the South Stream gas pipeline at the north of Italy without building of the line to Austria, Head of the company Aleksey Miller reported.

“The position of Gazprom is that the north of Italy is the only acceptable variant”, he said.

He specified, this decision was not final. The final investment decision on the project will be made in November.

As it was reported in the corporate edition of Gazprom, the Russian gas holding can withdraw from building of the land part of South Stream gas pipeline to Austria.

“The building of South Stream will start from Russian coast of the Black Sea in Krasnodar Territory near Anapa. The route of the gas line will pass the water area of the Black Sea, enter the exclusive economic zone of Turkey and the coast of Bulgaria near Varna. Then Russian gas will go via the territory of Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia to the north of Italy to the Tarvisio community. The pipelines from the main line will go to Greece, Croatia and Republic of Srpska within Bosnia-Herzegovina”, is said in the publication.

It was reported that several variants of laying of the gas line were considered: Russia-Bulgaria-Serbia-Hungary-Austria, Russia-Bulgaria-Serbia-Hungary-Slovenia, Bulgaria-Greece-Italy and the variant combining all the above-mentioned.

It was planned that the final route of the gas line would be determined together with the investment decision planned for November 2012.

South Stream project is realized in order to diversify the routes of delivery of natural gas to European consumers. In Q3, 2011 development of composite feasibility study of South Stream, uniting the study of the sea sector and the study of the sectors passing along the territories of the countries in South and Central Europe was completed.

On December 28, 2011 Turkey gave Russia the final permission for laying of the South Stream in its waters, having removed the last obstacle on the way of this project. On December 30 Vladimir Putin charged Gazprom with the starting of the realization of the South Stream project not in 2013, but in 2012. Gazprom prepared the new schedule of building of the gas pipeline, which will start in December 2012. Former President Dmitry Medvedev ordered to build the maximum capacity variant of the South Stream (63 billion cubic metres per year).

The approximate cost of South Stream makes up 15.5 billion euros, 10 billion for the sea sector and 5.5 billion for the land sector.

The shares of the operator of the South Stream (South Stream Transport AG) belong to Gazprom (50%), Italian Eni (20%), the German Wintershall and the French EdF (15% each).

Source: http://rosinvest.com/novosti/930877

Translated by Alexandra Utyasheva