Gazprom, Slovenia Enter JV for South Stream

Slovenian gas network operator Plinovodi and Russian giant Gazprom have entered into a 50/50 joint venture to develop the Slovenian section of the South Stream pipeline, Gazprom has announced.

Gazprom says the companies will form the new venture, South Stream Slovenia, to deal with the practicalities and necessary prep work for the pipeline's constructuon in Slovenia.

The agreement was signed between CEO of Gazprom Alexey Miller and Slovenian Prime Minister Yanez Yansa. The two met yesterday to discuss the progress of the pipeline after which an agreement to create a joint venture was signed.

"South Stream Slovenia will be tasked with carrying out design work, environmental impact assessment and preparing the basic project," Gazprom said in a statement to Platts after the signing.

The exact parameters of the South Stream project have already been defined due to a previous agreement. Earlier this year, Gazprom and Plinovodi signed a supplementary agreement setting out the exact layout of the pipeline in Slovenia.

A Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Slovenian portion of the South Stream pipeline is expected to be made by the new joint venture by November  of this year.