Gazprom's Miller cheers South Stream

MOSCOW, June 29 (UPI) -- The South Stream natural gas pipeline will bring 35 percent of Russian gas supplies to Europe within the next six years, the head of Gazprom said.

Gazprom chief Alexei Miller told delegates at the annual shareholders meeting for the energy monopoly that plans are in the works to increase the pipeline capacity to 2.2 trillion cubic feet per year.

"This means it will account for 35 percent of all Russian gas supplies to Europe in 2015," he said.

South Stream is a Russian-backed project to bring gas to southeastern Europe. Nord Stream, another Russian project, would travel along a dual route through the Baltic Sea to Germany.

Miller said the South Stream project was "balanced and economically efficient," noting both projects were included in Gazprom's plans to improve European energy security, RIA Novosti reports.

A January row between Moscow and Kiev over gas debts and contracts prompted Gazprom to cut gas supplies to Ukraine briefly. Europe gets a portion of its gas supplies from Russia, though 80 percent of that travels through Soviet-era pipelines in Ukraine.

Europe and Russia are moving to diversify the regional energy sector through rival projects, with Russian lobbying for Nord and South Stream while Europe scrambles for support for its $10.7 billion Nabucco project.