Bulgaria ready to place gas hub for European consumers

Bulgaria is ready to place on its territory a gas distribution European-scale station, instead of the South Stream project, according to a verbatim account of a meeting of the Bulgarian government on Wednesday.

Gas pipeline to Crimea to be connected to projected gas pipeline to Turkey

The gas pipeline connecting the Republic of Crimea with the Krasnodar Territory of Russia will be laid under the Kerch Strait in 2018, Minister of Fuel and Energy of Crimea Sergei Yegorov said at a meeting of the republic’s Council of Ministers on Tuesday.

South Stream pipeline can be built (European Commission)

The South Stream project can be implemented, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday.
South Stream can be built, Juncker said after a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

Russia-Turkey relations in energy sector rise to strategic level. Russia will reduce by 6% gas price for Turkish consumers from January 1, 2015

Russian-Turkish relations in the energy sector have raised to strategic level, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Russia will increase gas supplies to the Turkish market by 3 billion cubic meters under the Blue Stream project, Putin said. Russia will reduce by 6% gas price for Turkish consumers from January 1, 2015, Putin said. 

EU Commission's Stance on South Stream in Serbia Still Unknown

The position of the new team of European Commissioners on the construction of the Serbian section of the Russia-led South Stream gas pipeline is not clear yet though preparations for the project are underway, the Russian president's top aide, Yury Ushakov, told journalists Wednesday.
"Preparations for the construction of the Serbian section are well underway. I expect them [European Commissioners] to mention it. It has been made clear to Serbia that it will find next to impossible to implement this project without a go-ahead from Brussels, although [Serbia] is more than ready. It is of great interest to them," the presidential aide said.

Κομισιόν προς Βελιγράδι: «Η Κατασκευή του South Stream θα Επηρεάσει Αρνητικά την Ενταξιακή Πορεία της Σερβίας»

Η κατασκευή του σερβικού κομματιού του South Stream θα έχει επιπτώσεις στην υποψηφιότητα της χώρας για την ΕΕ, διαμηνύει στο Βελιγράδι η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή στην ετήσια έκθεσή της για την διεύρυνση, η οποία αναμένεται να δοθεί αύριο, Τετάρτη, στη δημοσιότητα. 

Ωστόσο, η απειλή εμφανίζεται αρκετά αποδυναμωμένη, καθώς ο νέος Πρόεδρος της Κομισιόν, Ζαν-Κλωντ Γιούνκερ έχει αποκλείσει την εισδοχή νέων μελών στην Ένωση για την επόμενη πενταετία.

Σύμφωνα με την έκθεση, η διακυβερνητική συμφωνία ανάμεσα στη Σερβία και την Ρωσία για την κατασκευή του South Stream δεν είναι συμβατή με το «κοινοτικό κεκτημένο».

Duma urges Gazprom to consider expediency of gas transit via Ukraine to Europe

First deputy head of the industry committee of the State Duma lower house of Russia’s parliament Vladimir Gutenev has urged Gazprom on Thursday to discuss the possibility of limiting or stopping the supplies of natural gas via Ukraine to Europe that is used for following reverse supply.

Gutenev sent an MP inquiry to Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller, requesting the natural gas monopoly head to provide available information about the EU reverse gas supplies to Ukraine and their compliance with the contracts signed with the EU countries.

La Bulgarie suspend tous les travaux sur le gazoduc South Stream

Le ministère de l'Economie et de l'Energie de Bulgarie a suspendu la réalisation du projet du gazoduc South Stream jusqu'à ce qu'il soit mis en conormité avec la législation européenne
 
Les fonctionnaires européens reprochent au projet South Stream le fait qu'en vertu des normes juridiques de l'Union européenne le fournisseur des vecteurs d'énergie, en l'occurrence Gazprom, n'a pas le droit de contrôler l'accès aux gazoducs.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said on Tuesday that all activities related to the South Stream gas pipeline project should be put on hold until it was brought in line with European legislation.

The statement followed reports about the Bulgarian Energy Holding to prepare the decision on a contract with Russia’s Gazprom for a loan to finance Bulgaria’s participation in the project.
The president expressed surprise and indignation at the continuing project work by the government contrary to its public obligations assumed on June 8 to temporarily suspend the project, the presidential press service said.
Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski said earlier this month that Bulgaria would be able to convince the European Commission that its actions with regard to the South Stream gas pipeline project were justified and founded.

Russia wants South Stream built as scheduled

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Sofia on Monday said the South Stream gas pipeline should be built as scheduled, and urged the European Commission to implement a reasonable approach.

He made the statement at a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart Kristian Vigenin, after talks for the expansion of bilateral cooperation and the construction of a Bulgarian section of South Stream gas pipeline.

Bulgaria suspends works on South Stream project. - Plamen Oresharrski said on Sunday after a meeting with American Senators.

“We have received a request from the European Commission, after which I ordered to suspend the works," - Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharrski said...

Bulgaria suspends works on the South Stream project over the European Commission’s infringement proceedings, Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharrski said on Sunday after a meeting with American Senators.  

Greece to buy Russian gas at discounted price of $396 per 1,000 cubic metres

“The contract satisfies both Greece and Gazprom. It provides for annual gas supplies of about two billion cubic metres from 2016,” Georgios Chelikidis, the General Manager of Prometheus Gas S.A. says...

ATHENS, June 05./ITAR-TASS/. Greece will buy Russian gas at a price of $396 US dollars per 1,000 cubic metres, Georgios Chelikidis, the General Manager of Prometheus Gas S.A., a Greek-Russian joint venture with participation of Russia’s Gazprom Export, told ITAR-TASS on Thursday.

Ο Günther Oettinger απειλεί τη Ρωσία με πάγωμα του South Stream εξαιτίας της Ουκρανικού

"Θα ξαναρχίσουμε τις διαπραγματεύσεις όταν ο Ρώσος εταίρος συμμορφωθεί εκ νέου με το διεθνές δίκαιο"....

Το σχέδιο για τον αγωγό φυσικού αερίου South Stream, που θα συνδέει την Ρωσία με την Ιταλία, δεν θα προχωρήσει όσο η Ρωσία δεν αλλάζει θέση όσον αφορά την Ουκρανία, δήλωσε σε συνέντευξή του που δημοσιεύεται σήμερα ο Επίτροπος της ΕΕ που είναι αρμόδιος για θέματα Ενέργειας Günther Oettinger.

Turkey interested in Russia's new gas pipeline project (South Stream)

Turkey finds it feasible and possible to participate in Russia's South Stream pipeline project, if Moscow makes official offer, said Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz on Thursday.
If Russia makes an official offer, we find it feasible and possible, said Yildiz at the fourth Annual Congress of Caucasus Universities Association titled "Role of Energy in Caucasia's Future" in Ankara.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced that Moscow would choose a country not belonging to the European Union for passage of the South Stream pipeline, following the EU's reactions to the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

Bulgaria facing EU sanctions over South Stream. (Barroso)

 Outgoing European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said that the EC was planning to begin infringement proceedings against Bulgaria for breaching EU laws in its agreements on the Kremlin-backed South Stream gas pipeline, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported on May 28.

At the informal European Council meeting late on May 27, Barroso told EU heads of government that the EC remains steadfast in its opinion that some of the intergovernmental agreements signed by member states with Russia to build South Stream were in contradiction with EU rules, BNR said.

South Stream: le gazoduc pourrait contourner l'UE (Poutine)

La Russie pourrait faire passer le gazoduc South Stream par des pays non membres de l'UE, si cette dernière continue de dresser les obstacles à la réalisation du projet, a déclaré samedi à Saint-Pétersbourg le président russe Vladimir Poutine.

"Si nous avons toujours des problèmes concernant South Stream - et Bruxelles dresse des obstacles à la réalisation de ce projet - nous étudierons d'autres variantes et poserons le gazoduc dans les pays qui ne font pas partie de l'Union européenne. 

Reuters: Η Gazprom Ματαιώνει το Νότιο Σκέλος του South Stream

Σύμφωνα με ανταπόκριση του Reuters, η ρωσική Gazprom προσανατολίζεται να ακυρώσει οριστικά το νότιο σκέλος του αγωγού φυσικού αερίου South Stream, το οποίο θα περνούσε και από την Ελλάδα, ώστε να περιορίσει το συνολικό κόστος του έργου.
Είχε προηγηθεί πέρυσι η απόφαση της Gazprom να υλοποιήσει σε πρώτη φάση μόνο το βόρειο σκέλος του αγωγού, αλλά πλέον φαίνεται ότι το νότιο κομμάτι βαίνει προς οριστική ματαίωση, καθώς η εταιρεία δίνει έμφαση περισσότερο στο να ενώσει τον South Stream με την Αυστρία και την Ιταλία από τον Βορρά, όπως προκύπτει από τις πρόσφατες επαφές που είχε ο πρόεδρος, Αλεξέι Μίλερ, με κυβερνητικά στελέχη της συγκεκριμένης χώρας.

Gazprom to build South Stream's Austria section

Russia's Gazprom and Austrian gas producer OMV agreed on Tuesday to build a pipeline that would transfer Russian gas to central Europe, Gazprom said in a statement on its website. 
The memorandum, signed in Moscow, was announced in a day when the European Union imposed sanctions on 15 Russian individuals over their roles in the Ukrainian crisis.
The pipeline will be a part of the planned 'South Stream' project to ship Russia's natural gas to Europe through Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Austria.

EU should rethink South Stream, consider Turkey. -"Turkey on the way to becoming an energy hub"

The European Union should reconsider receiving gas via Russia's South Stream pipeline as Turkey is ready to carry gas to it with increased capacities, a Turkish Petroleum chief has said. The comments by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation's International Projects Department President, Emre Engur, came on Friday at the 20th International Energy and Environment Fair and Conference (ICCI 2014) in Istanbul, whose main media sponsor is Anadolu Agency. During a speech entitled "Turkey on the way to becoming an energy hub", Engur said the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, BOTAS, was ready to carry more gas to Europe via its Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) if its partners decide to raise the line's capacity.

South Stream Pipeline More Urgent Amid Ukraine Crisis. – Russian Ambassador to EU

The South Stream gas pipeline project, currently under development, has become more urgent amid Ukrainian warnings that Russian gas flows to Europe could be halted, Russian Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov told RIA Novosti on Wednesday. 

“I believe the relevance of the South Stream project has risen amid the Ukrainian crisis, because we have already heard not threats, but hints from Ukrainian authorities, including interim Prime Minister Yatsenuk, of yet another attempt to disrupt the transit of Russian gas,” Chizhov said.