The Gazprom Headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee and Dusan Bajatovic, Director General of the state-owned company Srbijagas.

Among the main issues of the meeting was the execution of joint gas transmission projects, in particular, the South Stream and the Banatski Dvor UGS projects.

Alexey Miller and Dusan Bajatovic expressed their satisfaction with the progress in executing both projects and paid special attention to planning the activities of South Stream Serbia AG (a joint venture set up last week) related to elaboration of a feasibility study for the Serbian section of the gas pipeline.

In addition, the issues of strategic development of Serbia’s gas transmission system were discussed.

Background:

In order to diversify natural gas export routes Gazprom is planning to construct a pipeline across the Black Sea to South and Central Europe – the South Stream project.

On January 25, 2008 Russia and Serbia signed the Umbrella Intergovernmental Agreement for the South Stream project and the Banatski Dvor UGS project.

On December 24, 2008 Gazprom and Srbijagas signed the Major Terms and Conditions of the Basic Cooperation Agreement on the South Stream project implementation in Serbia as well as the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the gas storage sector within the Banatski Dvor project.

On May 15, 2009 Gazprom and Srbijagas signed the Basic Cooperation Agreement on the South Stream project implementation in Serbia. The document stipulates certain principles of interaction between the parties on the pre-investment stage of the project and determines the conditions and procedure of incorporation, as well as the operation mechanisms for the joint venture.

On November 17, 2009 the joint engineering company, South Stream Serbia AG, was registered.

Founded on October 1, 2005 by the Government of the Republic of Serbia within the reorganization of the state-owned Nafta Industrija Srbije (NIS), Srbijagas is the state-owned company dealing with natural gas transmission, distribution and storage in Serbia.

Banatski Dvor UGS will be created on the basis of the depleted gas field situated 60 kilometers to the north-east of Novi Sad.