VIENNA, March 31 (UPI) -- Austrian energy company OMV said it was ready to work with Russian gas monopoly Gazprom after reviewing a leg of the planned South Stream gas pipeline.
OMV said it completed a feasibility study for the Austrian section of the South Stream natural gas pipeline. The energy company said it was ready to discuss the results with Gazprom, Bloomberg News reports.
South Stream is one of Russia's options for diverting natural gas around geopolitically sensitive territory in Ukraine. Gazprom ships 80 percent of its natural gas to European markets through Soviet-era pipelines in Ukraine.
South Stream would terminate in Baumgarten in eastern Austria, the same place that Europe's Nabucco pipeline is designed to end.
South Stream is planned to move more than 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to Europe per year after it passes through the Turkish waters of the Black Sea. Gas flows are expected by 2015.
