OREANDA-NEWS. June 07, 2010. In Moscow, at a meeting of the Joint Russian-Greek Commission on economic, industrial and scientific-technical cooperation, Gazprom and the company DESFA S.A. (Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator S.A.) signed a charter of the Joint Venture Company (JVC) South Stream Greece S.A., established on parity basis by Gazprom and DESFA for the implementation of the Greek section of the South Stream project.

In the near future, a formal procedure for registration of the JVC will start in Greece. The scope of the company will include engineering, funding, construction and operation of the pipeline on the territory of Greece.
Background

For the purpose of diversifying export routes of natural gas supply OAO Gazprom plans to construct a gas pipeline running under the Black Sea to the countries of the South and Central Europe: the South Stream project.

The offshore section of the gas pipeline is planned to be laid under the Black Sea from the main compressor station Russkaya on the Russian coast to the Bulgarian coast. Its total length will be around 900 kilometers, the maximum depth – over two kilometers. Annual capacity of the offshore section of South Stream will be up to 63 billion cubic meters.

To implement the onshore section of the Project outside Russia, intergovernmental agreements were signed with Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia and Austria.

The provisions of the above mentioned agreements stipulate establishing joint ventures responsible for the FS development, as well as for the further engineering, construction and operation of the South Stream gas pipeline in the signatory countries provided that the technical practicability and economic viability assessments are confirmed.

DESFA S.A. (Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator S.A.) was created in 2007 and exclusively operates, develops and exploits the National Gas Transportation System in Greece.

In May 2009, OAO Gazprom and DESFA S.A. signed a Basic Cooperation Agreement on  implementation of the South Stream project on the territory of Greece. The document stipulated the principles of cooperation of the parties at the pre-investment stage of the project and determined conditions and procedures for establishing of the JVC as well as its operation mechanisms.