The Gazprom headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee and Bruno Lescoeur, Senior Executive Vice President of EDF.

The meeting participants discussed the prospects for cooperation in the energy sector. In particular, they addressed the steps towards the French company’s entry in the shareholding structure of South Stream AG. The parties expressed their content with the progress in the appropriate work and were counting that the entry would be finalized as scheduled.

“South Stream is a project of Europe-wide significance and scale. New energy companies and even new states express interest in joining the project. On our part, we are open for such cooperation. It is due to our joint efforts that South Stream will soon turn into a state-of-the-art, reliable and hi-tech gas transmission system,” noted Alexey Miller during the meeting.

Background:

For the purpose of diversifying natural gas export routes Gazprom is planning to construct a gas pipeline across the Black Sea to South and Central Europe – the South Stream project.

In January 2008 the South Stream AG joint project company (JPC) was registered in Switzerland. The company was established by Gazprom and Eni on a parity basis.

On November 27, 2009 Gazprom and EDF inked the Memorandum of Understanding on EDF’s possible participation in  constructing the South Stream gas pipeline offshore section.

On June 19, 2010 Gazprom, Eni and EDF signed the trilateral Memorandum providing for specific steps towards the French company’s entry in the shareholding structure of South Stream AG. The Memorandum contemplates that the entry will be accomplished before the end of 2010 through Eni’s stake reduction in the JPC. EDF’s participation in the project will be not less than 10  per cent.

EDF Group, one of the leaders in the European energy market, is an integrated energy company running such businesses as  electric power generation, transmission, distribution, supply and trading.

The Group is the leading electric power producer in Europe. In  France, it has nuclear and hydro power generation facilities where 95 per cent of the electricity output involves no CO2 emissions. The Group is involved in supplying energy and services to more than 38 million customers globally, including over 28  million in France.