MOSCOW — Russian gas company Gazprom has formally agreed to build a costly pipeline that would deliver Russian gas to large parts of Europe.
The
South Stream pipeline — funded by Gazprom, Italy’s Eni, France’s EdF
and Germany’s Wintershall — is due to start operating in 2015, bringing
up to 63 billion cubic meters of gas annually to the Balkans, Austria
and Italy.
The Moscow-based company said Thursday that it signed
the final investment agreement with its European partners, confirming
next month as the starting date for construction. The financial details
of the agreement were not disclosed.
The pipeline would go from Russia
under the Black Sea to reach Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia,
Austria and Italy in one leg, and Croatia and Greece in a second.
