The new South Stream gas pipeline project is conceived as an alternative to the routes of natural gas supplies from Russia to Europe. The development of a consolidated feasibility study for this project was completed quite recently - in the III quarter of 2011. It includes feasibility studies for the offshore section of the pipeline and those sections that pass by land.
Earlier it was assumed that the South Stream gas pipeline will include two branches, one of which will be laid to the north of Italy, the other to Austria. But on May 28, 2012, the head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, announced a new version of the route, which now lacks the second branch. Gazprom's proposal is to complete the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline in northern Italy.
However, this option is not yet final. In November 2012, it is planned to make an investment decision on this project, along with which the final configuration of the gas pipeline under construction will be determined.
The South Stream gas pipeline will start near Anapa, off the Russian Black Sea coast. It is planned that the offshore section of the pipe will pass through the Russian and Turkish parts of the economic zones of the Black Sea water area. The gas pipeline is planned to be launched in the area of the Bulgarian city of Varna, and then its route through the territory of this country will pass to Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia to the settlement of Travisio, located in northern Italy.
It is planned to build branches from the main branch of the gas pipeline through which gas will be supplied to Greece, Croatia and the Republika Srpska, which is part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the development of the project, several options for laying the South Stream were considered: through Russia and Bulgaria to Serbia-Hungary-Austria, Serbia-Hungary-Slovenia or Greece-Italy. An option has also been proposed that takes into account all three routes.
The last obstacle on the way of the gas pipeline was obtaining the consent of the Turkish side to lay a pipe in its economic zone of the Black Sea. It was received at the end of December 2011. The Russian government instructed Gazprom to start construction of South Stream in Russia in 2012. It is planned to complete the construction of the main highway in 2016.
