Russia has Eni backing on new gas links to EU - (Reuters: Putin) India
MOSCOW, March 24 (Reuters) - Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it had the full support of Eni (ENI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) to build new gas links to bypass Ukraine, following meetings that coincided with a new row between Moscow and Kiev.
Gazprom said its head Alexei Miller and Eni Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni met in Moscow to discuss their joint project, the South Stream gas pipeline, which will take Russian gas from under the Black Sea to Europe, bypassing Ukraine.
"Taking into account that the EU understands the substance of the diversification routes from Russia, the issue of quickly implementing this project is becoming extraordinarily pressing," Gazprom said in a statement, referring to the link.
The meetings came as Russia broke off talks with Ukraine after Kiev angered the Kremlin by asking the European Union to modernise its pipeline network. [ID:nLO943578].
Gazprom supplies Europe with a quarter of its gas. Around 80 percent of this comes through Ukraine's Soviet-era pipelines.
The Russian gas giant did not mention a looming deadline to exercise a call option on a 20 percent stake in Gazpromneft (SIBN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research), the oil wing of Gazprom, held by Eni and valued at about $4.3 billion.
The call option expires in early April.
Scaroni also met Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin on Tuesday, who is also the chairman of Russian state oil giant Rosneft (ROSN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) and a trusted adviser on energy issues to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Sechin later said the two had discussed energy security, which could only be achieved through "cooperation between consumers, suppliers and transit states", Russian media quoted him as saying. (Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman in Moscow, additional reporting by Stephen Jewkes in Milan, editing by Will Waterman)
Gazprom said its head Alexei Miller and Eni Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni met in Moscow to discuss their joint project, the South Stream gas pipeline, which will take Russian gas from under the Black Sea to Europe, bypassing Ukraine.
"Taking into account that the EU understands the substance of the diversification routes from Russia, the issue of quickly implementing this project is becoming extraordinarily pressing," Gazprom said in a statement, referring to the link.
The meetings came as Russia broke off talks with Ukraine after Kiev angered the Kremlin by asking the European Union to modernise its pipeline network. [ID:nLO943578].
Gazprom supplies Europe with a quarter of its gas. Around 80 percent of this comes through Ukraine's Soviet-era pipelines.
The Russian gas giant did not mention a looming deadline to exercise a call option on a 20 percent stake in Gazpromneft (SIBN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research), the oil wing of Gazprom, held by Eni and valued at about $4.3 billion.
The call option expires in early April.
Scaroni also met Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin on Tuesday, who is also the chairman of Russian state oil giant Rosneft (ROSN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) and a trusted adviser on energy issues to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Sechin later said the two had discussed energy security, which could only be achieved through "cooperation between consumers, suppliers and transit states", Russian media quoted him as saying. (Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman in Moscow, additional reporting by Stephen Jewkes in Milan, editing by Will Waterman)
