Gazprom, Srbijagas clinch pipeline deal

Russia's Gazprom and Serbia's Srbijagas today in Belgrade signed a cooperation agreement. The Russian natural gas giant will thus form a new, Serbo-Russian company with Srbijagas, to realize a project to build a part of the South Stream pipeline and enable gas transit through Serbia. Gazprom, Srbijagas clinch pipeline deal The agreement was signed by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and his Srbijagas counterpart, Sasa Ilic. The deal formalizes a strategic agreement signed in Moscow on Jan. 25, by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Serbian President Boris Tadic. Putin's likely successor, currently Russian first deputy premier and head of the Gazprom board of directors Dmitry Medvedev is also in Belgrade today. More about his meetings with the country's top officials here. The newly established company is now tasked to in the next 18 months produce all the details of the pipeline design, but also to detail legal rights and obligations of those companies that will become a part of the joint Serbo-Russian natural gas enterprise. A source close to the Russian delegation revealed ealrier that Moscow will propose a memorandum to specify all the stages and deadlines of South Stream's Serbian stretch, set to be 400 kilometers long, with a capacity of no less that 10 billion cubic meters of has per year. The memorandum further states that Gazprom will build and equip an underground gas depot in Banatski Dvor, Vojvodina, and purchase the control package of shares in Serbia's oil monopoly, NIS, Russian Itar-Tass news agency said.

Gazprom, Srbijagas clinch pipeline deal

The agreement was signed by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and his Srbijagas counterpart, Saša Ilić.

The deal formalizes a strategic agreement signed in Moscow on Jan. 25, by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Serbian President Boris Tadić.

Putin's likely successor, currently Russian first deputy premier and head of the Gazprom board of directors Dmitry Medvedev is also in Belgrade today. More about his meetings with the country's top officials here.

The newly established company is now tasked to in the next 18 months produce all the details of the pipeline design, but also to detail legal rights and obligations of those companies that will become a part of the joint Serbo-Russian natural gas enterprise.

A source close to the Russian delegation revealed ealrier that Moscow will propose a memorandum to specify all the stages and deadlines of South Stream's Serbian stretch, set to be 400 kilometers long, with a capacity of no less that 10 billion cubic meters of has per year.

The memorandum further states that Gazprom will build and equip an underground gas depot in Banatski Dvor, Vojvodina, and purchase the control package of shares in Serbia's oil monopoly, NIS, Russian Itar-Tass news agency said.