Gazprom: Early to speculate on changes to South Stream route

BELGRADE - Preparations for the construction of the Serbian stretch of the South Stream gas pipeline are going according to plan and it is early to speculate on any potential new routes, Tanjug has learned at Gazprom.

It is early to speculate on potential new routes of the South Stream because discussions on regulatory issues related to the project at various local and European levels are still under way, the sources at Gazprom said when asked if the South Stream could bypass Serbia.

South Stream Ltd. is overseeing the construction of the Serbian stretch of the gas pipeline, and preparations for the construction are proceeding according to plan, the sources said.

The South Stream route was selected after several years of detailed geological, geophysical and economic research. The selected route has proved to be the most sustainable according to commercial, environmental, socio-economic and technical criteria, the sources said.

Some Serbian media have quoted the Russian Internet portal Vzglyad as reporting that the South Stream pipeline could run via Turkey and Greece en route to Italy and Austria - rather than through Bulgaria and Serbia - after the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy decided on Monday to suspend all works on the project until it is in full compliance with European regulations.

Photo Tanjug, J. Pap (illustration, archive)