Gas Streams to Meet in Germany
The South Stream gas pipeline running from Russia to South and Central Europe is due to become operational by 2013. The project budget of the facility with the annual capacity of 30 billion cu meters exceeds $14 billion. Gazprom will control the project, where Eni is a partner.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Eni chief Paolo Scaroni inked in Kremlin yesterday the supplement to the Understanding Memorandum of June 23, 2007. Under the document, South Stream SA will be incorporated by January 15, 2008 to elaborate feasibility study for the gas pipeline running from Russia to South and Central Europe. The marketing survey of gas sales will be completed by the end of 2008.
South Stream SA will be incorporated in the Zug canton of Switzerland, said a source close to Gazprom. The South Stream pipeline is due to take the first gas in 2013, people in the monopoly added.
According to Scaroni, Eni and Gazprom will own South Stream SA pari passu and elaboration of feasibility study will be funded 50:50 as well. The project will be implemented similar to the project of Nord Stream pipeline. Therefore, the share of Eni may go down along with emergence of the third party.
Gazprom will have 51 percent in South Stream anyway, a source with Gazprom said, pointing out the parity extends only to funding the feasibility study.
And last but not least, from Austria, the South Stream will probably turn not only to Italy but also to Germany, enabling Moscow to close a ring of north and south pipelines and turning Germany into the biggest hub in Europe.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 23, 2007
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