Brussels, 08/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - On the evening of Tuesday 9 December, the Commissioner for the Energy Union, Maros Sefcovic, will meet the ministers of the stakeholder countries to the South Stream gas pipeline project, originally steered by Gazprom, which is now threatening to abandon it.
“It is too early to take position on the subject. But we are well aware that this meeting could change the game”, was all that an Italian diplomatic source had to say on the matter on Monday. This ministerial meeting will be held after the session of the Energy Council of 9 December, in a format limited to the ministers of the stakeholder countries.
Headed up by the Russian gas company Gazprom (50%), with the participation of the Italian ENI (20%), French EDF (15%) and German Wintershall (15%), South Stream plans to link Russia to the European market under the Black Sea, crossing Bulgaria and Serbia before splitting into two branches, one heading to Austria through Hungary and the other heading for Italy via Slovenia. South Stream is designed to bring 63 billion cubic metres of Russian gas to Europe every year, representing more than 10% of European demand. The cost of the project has been put at over 40 billion dollars.
On a visit to Ankara on 1 December, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, intimated that South Stream may be abandoned, giving the grounds for this decision as Bulgaria's refusal to allow the gas pipeline to pass through its territory on the grounds of its non-compliance with Community legislation. A definitive abandonment was confirmed shortly afterwards by the CEO of Gazprom, Alexeï Miller. On the same day, Gazprom and the Turkish gas company Botas announced the signature of a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a gas pipeline between Russia and Turkey under the Black Sea, to transport 63 billion cubic metres of gas a year, of which 14 billion would be destined for Turkey, with the remainder transported to the Turkish border with Greece.
Cutting transit via Ukraine to zero. Last weekend, Miller confirmed that Russia plans to find an alternative route for its gas, with Turkey as its favourite option. “Ukraine's role as a transit country will be reduced to zero. Supplies of gas to Europe will be delivered through alternative routes”, the Gazprom CEO explained in an interview with the Russian television channel Rossiya 24, broadcast on 6 December. Russia is counting on Turkey, its “new strategic partner in the gas sector”, Miller stressed. On Monday 8 December, Gazprom announced that it was to create a new company to build the new Russian gas pipeline to Turkey, to be known as Gazprom Rousskaïa. (EH)