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Russia’s Gazprom, Italy’s Eni discuss partnership within South Stream project

The sides agreed that new routes for energy supplies will ensure needed gas volumes for European consumers for a long-term perspective

MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/. Russian gas giant Gazprom and Italy’s Eni have discussed partnership within the South Stream project, Gazprom said in a release on Monday after a meeting between its CEO Alexei Miller and Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi in Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

The sides discussed basic areas of and prospects for bilateral cooperation in the energy sector. In particular, they discussed partnership within the South Stream project. The sides agreed that new routes for energy supplies will ensure needed gas volumes for European consumers for a long-term perspective. They also discussed issues of Russian gas supplies to Italy.

Earlier on Monday, Vladimir Markov, head of gas giant Gazprom’s general relations department, told a news conference that Gazprom expected the construction of underwater part of the South Stream pipeline to start on December 15, a month later than scheduled. “We have delayed (the construction) for a month, but, I think, the start is scheduled for December 15,” Markov said.

He also said the project was proceeding as scheduled. “The construction of South Stream goes on steadily day in day out. The schedule is observed and the gas pipeline will be built on time,” Markov said. At the beginning of November Gazprom said that the readiness for laying the sea section of South Stream was high. The under-the-sea section’s front end engineering design (FEED) had been completed and nearly 300,000 tonnes of pipes provided.

South Stream is a global infrastructure project of Gazprom for laying a 63-billion cubic meter capacity gas carrier under the Black Sea to countries in southern and Central Europe for diversifying natural gas supply routes and warding off transit risks. South Stream is scheduled to go operational in 2018.

South Stream Transport B.V.

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