Croatia snubbed with South Stream route

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ZAGREB, Croatia, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- A state-owned pipeline operator in Croatia said it wasn't aware of a decision by Russian energy company Gazprom to move South Stream around its territory.

Alexander Medvedev, deputy chief executive officer at Gazprom, said the route for the South Stream natural gas pipeline would bypass Croatia by moving from Serbia and Hungary, Bloomberg News reports, citing local Croatian media.

Croatia's state-owned pipeline operator Plinacro was reported to be unaware of Gazprom's decision. The Russian company recently signed off on final investment decisions for South Stream with the Hungarian and Serbian governments.

South Stream is expected to travel around 292 miles through the region to move an estimated 2.2 trillion cubic feet of Russian natural gas to southern Europe.

South Stream, along with its northern counterpart Nord Stream, is part of Gazprom's efforts to diversify its European exports routes. European consumers get roughly 20 percent of their natural gas from Russia, though the bulk of that runs through the Soviet-era transit system in Ukraine.