Gazprom, Slovenia sign final investment decision on South Stream

The shareholders of South Stream Slovenia LLC, the 50/50 project company set up jointly by Gazprom and Slovenian state-owned gas network operator Plinovodi, signed in Moscow on Tuesday a resolution adopting the final investment decision on the construction the Slovenian section of the South Stream, the Russian company said in a statement.

Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev and his Slovenian counterpart Janez Jansa attended the signing ceremony

Building a 266-kilometre gas pipeline and two compressor stations in Slovenia will boost investment inflows and create jobs, Gazprom management committee chairman Alexey Miller said.

In 2011, Gazprom supplied 0.53 billion cubic metres of natural gas to Slovenia.

The construction of the South Stream pipeline is set to start in December. The first gas pipeline string is to be commissioned in late 2015.

Intergovernmental agreements have been signed with Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia and Austria in order to implement the onshore section of the gas pipeline.

South Stream, a project initiated by Gazprom and Italy's Eni, is expected to carry 63 billion cubic metres of Russian natural gas per year under the Black Sea to Europe. Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Greece are partners in the onshore section of the pipeline.