RUSSIA'S President Putin has said that the North European Gas Pipeline (NEGP) being built by German chemical giant BASF and Russia's Gazprom in the Baltic Sea will begin delivery to Europe in 2010. At the end of June, the Russian government gained control of Gazprom, the world's biggest producer and exporter of gas, after buying a 10.7% stake, which raised the state's holding to more than 50% of the company. Mr Putin told a meeting of German business leaders in St Petersburg that the joint pipeline venture expects "to sell gas in Europe in 2010, with a volume of 27 billion cum/yr." The Russian president added, with a grin, that Gazprom would not forget its traditional partners. "Having said that, we are in discussion with Ruhrgas about possibly joining the project," Mr Putin added. EON Ruhrgas, the subsidiary of German energy group EON, had been in competition with BASF to land the pipeline project with Russia. Europe, and in particular Germany, depends on gas exports from Russia. Construction of the NEGP in the Baltic Sea is expected to begin later this year, and is seen as an alternative to other pipelines routes, especially those through Ukraine. The construction agreement was signed in April in Hannover by Mr Putin and German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The gas pipeline will cross the Baltic Sea from the town of Vyborg in the NW of Russia to the German coastline near the town of Greifswald. Spurs from the main pipeline could also feed gas networks in Finland, Sweden, and the UK. The total length of the pipeline will be approximately 3,000km, and the estimated cost of the project is $5.7 billion. The subsea portion of the pipeline is expected to cost $2 billion, and is intended to by-pass transit countries such as Ukraine, the main artery through which Germany gets most of its Russian gas. The launch of the pipeline's construction is planned for the autumn this year, with first deliveries planned for 2010. The pipeline's annual capacity will reportedly amount to 55 billion cum, although Gazprom has said earlier that the capacity would not exceed 30 billion cum. The pipeline will supply gas produced at the Yuzhno-Russkoye deposit, whose proven reserves amount to 750 billion cum.