ENI May Cap South Stream Participation

ENI SpA has indicated that it may leave the Gazprom led South Stream gas pipeline project should the Italian state-controlled energy be required to commit greater financial resources that initially expected.

"ENI will continue to engage in South Stream if required investment does not exceed 600 million euros, otherwise it will consider leaving the project,"  Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said on Tuesday as reported by ANSA.

"But ENI would never be able to put up 2.4 billion euros, as this would be too risky for its financial balance," Descalzi said.

Descalzi said that the partners in the offshore section, ENI, Gazprom, Wintershall and EDF, were having difficulty finding funding for the project, the which is reported to passed the ten billion euro mark. 

The offshore section will run through the Black Sea from Russia to Bulgaria and have a total length of 930 kilometers.

In recent interview with TASS, Jasper Jansen, a spokesman for the South Stream Transport B.V., said that the total cost will become known only after all the key contracts are concluded.