Macedonia appears to be very close to being included in the South Stream gas transit pipeline after its government held talks with Gazprom officials on Friday.
"It is quite likely that Macedonia will be involved in gas pipeline "South Stream", with a number of options reviewed how to do this, whether as its arm or as transit line. We need to complete the technical analyses on the pipeline profitability, followed by the signing of an inter-governmental agreement with Russia on its realization," Macedonian Deputy PM and Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski said, as cited by the Macedonian agency MINA, after Friday's meeting with representatives of Russian energy giant Gazprom in Skopje.
Stavreski has clearly defined Friday's talks as a step forward in the realization of the gas pipeline in Macedonia and it was almost certain that the country would be involved in the project.
"Gazprom's arrival in Macedonia will make the country more attractive to investors due to the stability in supply with environment-friendly and cheap energy, but will at the same time result in the development of Macedonia's economy," he declared .
FYROM government has already established "Makedonija Gas", a special company to work together with "Gazprom" on South Stream. Depending on the gas needs of Kosovo and Albania, a South Stream arm towards Macedonia or a transit route would be constructed.
Gazprom head of project management Leonid Chugunov is quoted as saying that a period of at least one year was required for technical preparations in order to decide which of the two options to use.
Novinite
