Gazprom Names Date for South Stream in Bulgaria

Construction of the European overland section of the South Stream pipeline will start in Bulgaria next June, according to a Gazprom statement.

The announcement, which followed a meeting of the board of directors of the Russian energy giant, says that a schedule for the construction of South Stream on Bulgarian territory and the launch of the facilities will be adopted shortly.

It added that at present the South Stream venture is updating its plant for work in Bulgaria between 2013-2017. South Stream is due to come onstream in 2015, carrying 63 billion cubic metres of gas a year. Its price tag is at least €16 billion. A section 925kms long will run from Russia under the Black Sea to Bulgaria.

In Serbia, such a plan was already adopted for 2013-2016, and an environmental impact assessment is under way, it said, adding that in Hungary there is a preparation for the project paperwork, while in Slovenia the planning of the EIA and the route of the pipeline is under way. In Macedonia, Russia's Energy Ministry is working out cooperation for natural gas deliveries once South Stream is completed.

Gazprom's chief executive, Alexey Miller, also met Hungarian government representatives earlier this week to discuss South Stream in the central European country. In October the company and Budapest agreed the final investment decision on building the Hungarian section of the pipeline, which will be 229 kms long.

Earlier this month the Croatian government told Gazprom that it had agreed to construction of the pipeline on its territory. The Russian semi-state is working on a similar accord with the Republic of Macedonia.

See also: Mikhail Krutikhin: Stream Dreams