GAZPROM Establishes New Project Management Department

Reported by Alexander Tovb in Moscow

Russian natural gas major Gazprom has established a ne
w project management department to co-ordinate South Stream project execution.

According to the company, the new department is in charge of coordinating the engineering and construction activities as part of the South Stream project in expanding the gas transmission capacities in Russia required for ensuring gas delivery from the Unified Gas Supply System via the South Stream gas pipeline.

The new department is also in charge of constructing the offshore section of the gas pipeline, and upgrading the existing gas transmission infrastructure facilities and building the new ones in the countries participating in the South Stream project execution.

The project management department will report directly to the management committee chairman of Gazprom. Leonid Chugunov has been appointed head of the department.

South Stream is a proposed gas pipeline to transport Russian natural gas through the Black Sea to Bulgaria and further to Italy and Austria. The project would partly replace the planned extension of Blue Stream from Turkey through Bulgaria and Serbia to Hungary and Austria, and is seen as rival to the planned Nabucco pipeline. The project is expected to be complete by 2015.