Gazprom will start construction of the South Stream gas pipeline to pump natural gas to Europe along the bed of the Black Sea with two parallel legs, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said on Monday.
“We plan to build two pipeline legs with a capacity of 15.5 billion cubic meters each; they will be built in parallel,” Miller said.
The South Stream pipeline is intended to transport up to 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas to central and southern Europe, diversifying Russian gas routes away from transit countries such as Ukraine. Construction will start in December 2012, and not 2013 as previously planned.
Overall, Gazprom plans to build four pipeline legs for the project.
A board of directors meeting for the South Stream operator has been scheduled for June to present information to shareholders for an investment decision on the project, Miller said.