BNE: South Stream presents direct competition to the Nabucco project

Russia's Gazprom, the largest gas extractor in the world, announced that it would begin construction of its slow-going South Stream pipeline to Europe on Dec. 7. The pipeline will rival other European alternatives that lean on an Azerbaijani-Turkish initiative to carry Caspian gas through western Turkey. 

Gazprom has long placed its bets on South Stream while also expanding the capacity of a sister project under the Baltic Sea called Nord Stream. Its officials sounded confident on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reported.

After signing an investment decision on the project with Slovenia, company boss Alexei Miller said a similar deal with Bulgaria - the only transit country yet to approve South Stream - would be sealed on Nov. 15. "We intend to sign the final investment decision on the sea section Nov. 14 and a deal with Bulgaria on Nov. 15," news agencies quoted Miller as saying, following talks with Slovenian energy officials.

"Construction will begin on Dec. 7," Miller said.  MORE