Russia: Eni, Gazprom CEOs Discuss South Stream Development
Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller met with Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni today at Gazprom headquarters.
The two participants examined the ongoing situation and the prospects of cooperation development in the oil & gas sector. In particular, they discussed the realization of the gas pipeline South Stream and the future gas supplies to Italy.
During the talks, the parties underlined that the entry of new participants in the construction of the off-shore pipeline segment demonstrates the interest of major foreign companies in the successful completion of the South Stream project.
Alexey Miller and Paolo Scaroni confirmed the intention to continue with intense work on the creation of a new gas transport system in compliance with the time schedule.
The South Stream project is aimed at strengthening the European energy security. It is another real step toward executing the Gazprom strategy to diversify the Russian natural gas supply routes. The new gas pipeline system meeting the latest environmental and engineering requirements will significantly raise the energy supply security of the entire European continent.
Route
The project provides for the offshore South Stream pipeline to run under the Black Sea from the Russkaya compressor station on the Russian coast to the Bulgarian coast. The total length of the offshore section will be around 900 kilometers, the maximum depth – over two kilometers and the design capacity – 63 billion cubic meters. There are two optional routes for the onshore South Stream pipeline: either northwestwards or southwestwards from Bulgaria.
In order to feed the required amount of gas to South Stream the gas transmission system capacities in Russia are to be expanded with additional 2,300 kilometers of linepipe and 10 compressor stations with the total capacity of 1,473 MW. A pre-investment feasibility study is underway.
Environmental compliance
State-of-the-art technologies meeting the most stringent environmental requirements will be employed while executing the project. The environmental impact assessment will be held in full compliance with the Espoo Convention (1991).
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Sources: Eni / Gazprom, October 17, 2011; Image: Gazprom
