Wintershall and South Stream: In or Out?

Wintershall Denies Rumours of Joining South Stream project

Wintershall, the oil and gas subsidiary of Germany's BASF,  has denied reports that it was seeking to join the South Stream pipeline project.

The planned pipeline is a joint project by Russia's Gazprom and Italy's ENI. In June of this year, French player EDF signed an agreement to allow it the option to acquire an interest in the project by the end of 2010.  A source close to the negotiations had commented that "the possibility of inviting another partner with a share equal to France is being discussed."

The likelihood of Wintershall's entry into the South Stream project was issued by several news sources, including Russian wire Interfax and RIA Novosti.

Speculation about participation in the South Stream project makes sense, as Wintershall has been a long standing partner of Gazprom, including hold a 20 percent stake in the Nord Steam pipeline project and being an equal partner with Gazprom in WINGAS.