- BRUSSELS: Russia’s gas giant Gazprom says the unrest in northern Africa will likely boost European demand for its own supplies via the planned South Stream pipeline fromt he Black Sea.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller made the claim to Russian news agencies on the sidelines of EU-Russia talks in Brussels.
The pipeline, to be opened in 2015, aims to ship up to 63 billion cubic meters of Russian gas a year under the Black Sea to southern and western Europe. Industry watchers have criticized the project as uneconomic and urged Gazprom to abandon it in favor of increased supplies through Ukraine.
Uprisings across Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are pushing up oil and gas prices, which benefits Russia.
