Deutsche Welle: South Stream: Gazprom's chokehold on Europe

South Stream will secure Europe's gas supply. That was the message of Austrian energy company OMV on Tuesday (24.06.2014) in Vienna. But the agreement between OMV and Russian state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom is causing headaches for Brussels: The EU authorities fear distortion of competition if a gas supplier is also involved in distribution. The European Commission issued a dry statement that said merely it "noted" the agreement.

South Stream is a planned gas pipeline with a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters per year to be built by Gazprom. In 2011, OMV and the Kremlin-controlled giant entered a joint venture, South Stream Austria, to build the Austrian section.

The South Stream pipeline will make Austria a major hub in the European gas industry. But Kremlin-controlled Gazprom will be able to bypass beleagured Ukraine.

In two and a half years, from the end of 2016, the gas will flow across the Black Sea to Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Austria, where South Stream will end at the Baumgarten gas distribution center. From there, the gas will be pumped to southern and central Europe, supplying around 38 million households. The 2380-kilometer (1479-mile) pipeline should reach its full capacity in 2018.
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