FID on Bulgarian Section of South Stream to Be Completed by November

A final investment decision (FID) on the Bulgarian section of the South Stream project is due to take place by November of this year, majority stakeholder Gazprom has said.

The decision comes after a meeting between Chairman of Gazprom's Management Committee Alexey Miller and Executive Director of Bulgargaz Dimitar Gogov at Gazprom's headquarters yesterday. Bulgargaz is a subsidiary of Bulgarian Energy Holding which holds an agreement with Gazprom for the Bulgarian section of the pipeline.

In addition to the announcement of an FID on the project, the tender process for the Bulgarian portion of the pipeline will be completed by the end of this week.

"It was highlighted that on March 23, 2012 the tender procedure would be completed by selection of the contractor to carry out spatial planning, environmental impact assessment and prepare project documents for the gas pipeline section in Bulgaria," a statement from Gazprom said.

 The pipeline will carry gas from Russia, through the Black Sea, to the Bulgarian coast. South Stream will have an offshore length of approximately 900 kilometres, will have a capacity of 63 billion cubic metres.

The project is expected to be opened by the 31st of December 2015.