Russia is expanding its position as gas supplier for Europe. By building the South Stream pipeline, Russia will reduce its dependence on Ukraine as a transit country and undermine the European Nabucco project.
Vladimir Putin will personally attend the official start of construction work. Russia's president has made it his personal goal to make the country an energy superpower. That's why Putin will be travelling to the South-Russian spa town of Anapa on the Black Sea on Friday (07.12.2012), where the first pipes of the South Stream pipeline will be welded together.
The first 900 kilometers of the pipe will be installed underwater. The pipe will then come to land near the Bulgarian harbor town of Varna. The South Stream pipe will carry Russian gas via Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia to Italy.
Russian energy giant Gazprom is one of the main drivers behind the multi-billion project. Gazprom owns half the shares in the South Stream Transport consortium. The other half is split between Italian company ENI who own 20 percent, French EDF and German Wintershall, who each hold 15 percent of the shares.
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