OREANDA-NEWS. February 24, 2009. A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Dr. Martin Vukovich, Austria’s Ambassador to the Russian Federation was held today at the Gazprom Headquarters.

The parties discussed the prospects for the Russian – Austrian collaboration in the energy sector. The meeting highly evaluated the partnership between Gazprom and Austrian companies and underlined the necessity to diversify the routes of Russian gas supplies to Europe, in particular, through the implementation of such gas trunkline projects as the South Stream.

Background:

Over 40 years the oil and gas group OMV has been Austria’s major business partner of Gazprom. OMV was the first Western company to enter in 1968 into a long-term contract for the purchase of natural gas in the USSR.

In addition, Gazprom, WINGAS and Austrian RAG are engaged in the project for constructing Haidach UGS facility. In May 2007 the first leg of the UGS facility was inaugurated. Upon completion of stage two Haidach with a working gas volume of 2.4 billion cubic meters will become the largest UGS facility in Austria and the second-largest in Central Europe.

For the purpose of diversifying natural gas export routes Gazprom is exploring the possibility for constructing a gas pipeline across the Black Sea to South and Central Europe – the South Stream project.

The South Stream design capacity accounts for 31 billion cubic meters per annum.

To implement the onshore section of the project outside Russia, intergovernmental agreements were signed with Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Greece. A relevant draft agreement with Slovenia is being coordinated; another one is to be signed with Austria.