Today within the Moscow visit of the delegation of the Republic of Bulgaria, led by Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev, Gazprom and Bulgarian Energy Holding coordinated and initialed the Agreement of Cooperation to create a gas pipeline for natural gas transit via the Republic of Bulgaria within the South Stream project.

The Agreement is projected to be signed in the nearest future.

Background:

Russian natural gas has been exported to Bulgaria since 1974. In 2008 Gazprom export supplied the country with around 3.5 billion cubic meters of gas.

Gazprom transports gas to Turkey, Greece and Macedonia via Bulgaria.

On June 23, 2007 Gazprom and Italian ENI signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the South Stream project execution.

The total length of the Black Sea section will be around 900 km, with the maximum depth exceeding 2,000 m and design capacity averaging 31 billion cubic meters. The section is planned for commissioning in 2013.

In January 2008 Russia and Bulgaria signed the intergovernmental agreement stipulating Bulgaria’s entry in the South Stream project.