VIENNA, June 24. /ITAR-TASS/. International oil and gas company OMV based in Vienna has offered Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom a stake in the Austrian gas exchange, OMV CEO Gerhard Roiss said Tuesday.

“We have always said that if a company supplies gas to Austria then it should have a chance to participate in that exchange. We have offered Gazprom a stake, but it is not part of this agreement,” Roiss said.

He assured that Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline project would fully comply with the legislation of the European Union.

The statement by Gerhard Roiss came after the company signed a shareholders’ agreement with Gazprom on building the Austrian section of the South Stream gas pipeline intended to bring Russian natural gas to Europe bypassing transit countries like Ukraine.

“This project means investments in the energy security of Europe and it will fully comply with the EU legislation,” Roiss stressed.

 

First gas to come late in 2016

On Monday, spokesperson for OMV Robert Lechner said that first gas is expected to be pumped to Austria through the South Stream pipeline at the end of 2016. The Austrian section of the South Stream gas pipeline is about 50 kilometers long, and the pipeline capacity is up to 32 billion cubic meters of gas a year. Earlier reports said the project may achieve its rated capacity early in 2018.