HUNGARY is to join the South Stream gas pipeline project, Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said at a recent meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Gyurcsany in Budapest. “The Russian premier gave us a resolute and unambiguous promise; we agreed earlier that that South Stream will involve Hungary,” Mr Gyurcsany said. The Hungarian premier said his republic was “ranked among countries largely dependent on Russian energy supplies.”
He also said that though Hungary could see that Russia was a reliable partner and energy supplier, the availability of only one supplier or one gas pipeline posed risks. "This is why our negotiations have long been aimed at alleviating such risks," the Hungarian official said also referring to two options of finding another supplier or building a new gas pipeline.
The South Stream pipeline is being designed to run for over 900km under the Black Sea from Russia to Bulgaria, and to export 30bn cum/yr of Russian gas annually. Possible routes for the land section of the pipeline across Europe to Austria and Italy are still being discussed. Gazprom and Italy's Eni are understood to be preparing to establish a joint venture to operate the pipeline project by 15 January, and the first gas supplies are planned to be launched in 2013.
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