Gazprom Commits to Costly South Stream Pipeline Project

Gazprom and its partners in the South Stream gas pipeline that runs under the Black Sea to Europe have formally confirmed the launch of the 16 billion euro project, with a final deal with a Slovenian partner finalized on Tuesday. The direct supply of natural gas to Europe is expected to start in the first quarter of 2016, with up to 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas delivered to European consumers by 2018. The cost of South Stream, including the pipeline’s overland sections could reach as high as 24 billion euro billion taking into account the onshore sections, experts estimate. The South Stream pipeline was designed to diversify Russian gas routes to Europe and to compete with the rival EU-backed Nabucco pipeline project.

http://rt.com/business/news/gazprom-south-stream-commitment-675/