France’s EDF to Sign Deal in St. Petersburg to Join South Stream Project

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From RIA Novosti: French energy producer EDF will sign an agreement to join the South Stream gas pipeline project with Russia’s energy giant Gazprom and Italy’s Eni during the International Economic Forum due in Russia’s second city of St. Petersburg on June 17-19, Gazprom has said.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced on Monday that Gazprom and Eni will each give 10% of their shares in the project to EDF.

The South Stream project will pump 63 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas annually to Bulgaria, Italy and Austria and is part of Russia’s efforts to cut dependence on transit nations, particularly Ukraine and Turkey. It is widely considered a rival project to the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline, which is also intended to transport Caspian and Central Asian gas to Europe, but bypassing Russia.  (photo: Telegraph)

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