Greece Agrees to Join South Stream Project

[Crvena zvezda]

Greece Agrees to Join South Stream Project

Posted on: Wednesday, 16 April 2008, 09:01 CDT
Greece has agreed to join the Russian-promoted South Stream gas pipeline project, according to Reuters, which quoted the Greek development minister Christos Folias.
The South Stream pipeline, which is being jointly developed by Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and Italian integrated energy major Eni, is expected to transport around 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Russia's Siberia region to southern Europe.


By agreeing to be a part of the project, Greece will become a transit state on the southern prong of the pipeline, en route to Italy.
Greece is the newest participant in the project, with other southeastern European nations of Serbia and Bulgaria having already joined. Greece's inclusion in the project has raised concerns in the US and EU policy circles, which fear an over-dependence on Russia for energy supplies.
The news source noted Greece's growing co-operation with Russia in the energy sector, under which a E950 million oil pipeline is expected to enter into construction. The Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline is expected to bypass heavily trafficked Turkish routes, by delivering Russian oil to Greece via the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas.