South Stream gas study close to completion

A feasibility study for a section of the South Stream natural gas pipeline through territory in Macedonia will be finished by the third quarter, said Gazprom. Alexei Miller, the top executive at Russian natural gas company Gazprom, met with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in St. Petersburg to discuss implementation of the South Stream project. "The meeting noted the successful completion of the tender procedure aimed at choosing a contractor company to perform the feasibility study of Russian gas supplies to Macedonia within the South Stream project," said the gas company in a statement. "The study results will be presented in the third quarter of 2012." Geopolitical issues between Ukraine and Russia prompted Russian natural gas company Gazprom to look for new routes to deliver gas to European costumers. South Stream would divide into two pipelines -- one to Greece and the other through the Balkans -- after it passes through the Turkish waters of the Black Sea. The project would carry roughly 2.2 trillion cubic feet of gas per year when it goes into service by 2015. The project is seen as a counterpart to European plans to secure non-Russian natural gas supplies through a series of transit networks dubbed the Southern Corridor.