Eni and Gazprom Sign Agreement on South Stream Feasibility Study

Eni and Gazprom have agreed to use a joint special purpose vehicle for the commissioning of the marketing and technical feasibility studies related to the South Stream pipeline project.

The new structure will be governed by a shareholders agreement. The two partners, following joint consultations with Eni’s construction arm Saipem, have acknowledged the achievement of the preliminary studies and agreed to commission a detailed feasibility study.

The companies, together with the Italian and Russian governments, plan to begin high level discussions with the governments of the transit countries involved in the South Stream pipeline.

In its offshore section, the South Stream pipeline will cross the Black Sea from the Russian coast of Beregovaya to the Bulgarian coast, spanning a distance of 900km, while reaching a maximum water depth of more than 2,000 meters. Two different routes from Bulgaria are being studied for the onshore section.