Official—South Stream to cross Serbia

The signing of an agreement to form a Serbian-Russian company for the construction of South Stream has dispelled speculation the pipeline could bypass Serbia. However, while the political and technical details of the project are more or less known to the public, the economic profitability evaluation remains a mystery. Official—South Stream to cross Serbia Srbijagas CEO Dusan Bajatovic, who signed the agreement on Serbia’s behalf, said that the financial details about the project would be known after the upcoming economic summit in St. Petersburg. Besides that agreement, the ceremony, which was attended by the Russian and Italian prime ministers, featured the signing of a further annex memorandum stipulating the issue of gas sales and the increase in the pipeline’s capacity to 63 billion cubic meters per year. Unlike its predecessor in Sofia, the Sochi summit ended successfully. The South Stream agreement was signed by representatives of the national gas companies of Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria and Italy. Bajatovic said that the contract confirmed once and for all that the pipeline would be crossing Serbia, and that the capacity would be somewhere in the region of 20 billion cubic meters. “An added guarantee that South Stream really will happen was the presence of Prime Minister [Vladimir] Putin and Italian Prime Minister [Silvio] Berlusconi, as these two countries are the main partners, and if there were still any lingering doubts as to whether South Stream would be built, I think that this meeting has dispelled those doubts,” said the Srbijagas CEO. He said that the construction time frames had not been altered and that work was expected to end in late 2015. The joint Gazprom-Srbijagas company, which will be formed by the end of the year, is due to complete a feasibility study into the project, which is a condition for beginning any kind of construction work. “It’s true that the company will be founded in Switzerland, but it will conduct its activities in Serbia, according to Serbian regulations. The ownership structure remains 51:49, as the public has been aware of up to now, though a fairly broad list has been drawn up where we protect the Serbian side’s, that’s to say Srbijagas’s, interests in their entirety,” said Bajatovic. Yesterday's signing ceremony (FoNet)

Official—South Stream to cross Serbia

Srbijagas CEO Dušan Bajatović, who signed the agreement on Serbia’s behalf, said that the financial details about the project would be known after the upcoming economic summit in St. Petersburg.

Besides that agreement, the ceremony, which was attended by the Russian and Italian prime ministers, featured the signing of a further annex memorandum stipulating the issue of gas sales and the increase in the pipeline’s capacity to 63 billion cubic meters per year.

Unlike its predecessor in Sofia, the Sochi summit ended successfully.

The South Stream agreement was signed by representatives of the national gas companies of Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria and Italy.

Bajatović said that the contract confirmed once and for all that the pipeline would be crossing Serbia, and that the capacity would be somewhere in the region of 20 billion cubic meters.

“An added guarantee that South Stream really will happen was the presence of Prime Minister [Vladimir] Putin and Italian Prime Minister [Silvio] Berlusconi, as these two countries are the main partners, and if there were still any lingering doubts as to whether South Stream would be built, I think that this meeting has dispelled those doubts,” said the Srbijagas CEO.

He said that the construction time frames had not been altered and that work was expected to end in late 2015. The joint Gazprom-Srbijagas company, which will be formed by the end of the year, is due to complete a feasibility study into the project, which is a condition for beginning any kind of construction work.

“It’s true that the company will be founded in Switzerland, but it will conduct its activities in Serbia, according to Serbian regulations. The ownership structure remains 51:49, as the public has been aware of up to now, though a fairly broad list has been drawn up where we protect the Serbian side’s, that’s to say Srbijagas’s, interests in their entirety,” said Bajatović.