The Gazprom headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company's Management Committee and Antonis Samaras, head of the New Democracy party.

The meeting participants discussed the prospects for the Russian-Greek cooperation deepening in the energy sector as well as the current status of the Greek energy industry. Special attention was paid to gas supplies and the South Stream project implementation in the country.

Background

Russian natural gas supplies to Greece were launched in 1996. According to provisional data, Gazprom supplied Greece with 2.9 billion cubic meters of gas in 2011.

With a view to diversify the natural gas export routes Gazprom is implementing the project for construction of a gas pipeline running under the Black Sea to the countries of Southern and Central Europe – the South Stream project.

Intergovernmental agreements were signed with Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia and Austria in order to implement the onshore gas pipeline section. In the third quarter of 2011 the Consolidated Feasibility Study of South Stream was finalized and included the feasibility study of the offshore section and feasibility studies of the respective gas pipelines in the host countries of Southern and Central Europe.

On December 30, 2011 Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation authorized Gazprom to speed up the launch of the South Stream project and to start its construction in 2012.

On January 20, 2012 Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee held a meeting to approve the detailed action plan ensuring the South Stream gas pipeline construction launch in December 2012.