You're reading: Gazprom discusses national importance status for South Stream project in Hungary

MOSCOW - Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller talked to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on April 17 about giving the South Stream gas pipeline project national importance status, the company reported.

The project has already received this status in Bulgaria. Agreements with project participants state that the project member countries will try and obtain Trans-European Network (TEN) status in Brussels.

Gazprom said that in accordance with a decision from the Hungarian government there was a change in the authorized company in the joint venture to build the pipeline branch in the country. The national development bank Magyar Fejlesztesi Bank Zrt. (MFB) was replaced by MVM Zrt. (CJSC Hungarian Energy Company).

LLC Gazprom Export supplied around 6.26 billion cubic meters to the country in 2011.

The South Stream project envisages construction of a gas pipeline with 63 billion cubic meter annual capacity along the bottom of the Black Sea bypassing Ukraine. The pipeline will have an offshore length of 900 km and come out inland in Bulgaria and then continue to southern Italy and northern Italy.