Gazprom to Buy European Partners out of South Stream Pipeline

Gazprom has agreed to buy its European partners Wintershall, EDF and Eni out of the scrapped South Stream gas pipeline project, the companies said in statements on Monday.

 

Russia in early December abandoned the South Stream project, which was to supply gas to southern Europe without crossing Ukraine, citing European Union objections. It instead proposed an undersea pipeline to Turkey.

 

Before the deals announced on Monday, Eni held 20 percent of South Stream Transport, a holding company based in the Netherlands, with BASF unit Wintershall and France's EDF each owning 15 percent.

 

BASF said the purchase price reimburses the company for the cash it has invested in the project. A spokeswoman declined to comment on how much it has invested.

 

EDF too said it would recover the capital invested to date, but like BASF said the companies had agreed not to disclose financial details.

 

BASF and Gazprom also 10 days ago abandoned a gas assets swap deal planned for this year as companies across Europe continue to suffer from growing tensions between Moscow and the West.