Gazprom discusses South Stream with Greece

Russian natural gas company Gazprom said it discussed prospects for the South Stream natural gas pipeline with cash-strapped Greece. Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller met with Greek's New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras in Moscow to discuss South Stream implementation in Greece. Russia aims to diversify its export options to European consumers through South Stream and its Nord Stream counterpart through the Baltic Sea. South Stream would split with arteries headed to southern Europe after passing through Turkish waters of the Black Sea. It would carry roughly 2.2 trillion cubic feet of gas per year. Russia started shipping natural gas to Greece in the 1990s. Last year, the Russian gas company shipped more than 100 billion cubic feet to Greece. The company told Bloomberg News it increased natural gas supplies to Greece by more than 70 million cubic feet as of Jan. 20. The Russian government said recently construction for South Stream would start in December.