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PRIME-TASS (RUSSIAN FEDERATION) Russia signs accord to build South Stream pipe stretch via Hungary MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Prime-Tass) -- Russia signed an accord Thursday to build a stretch of the South Stream gas pipeline through Hungary, ITAR-TASS reported. The agreement was signed in Moscow during a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany. The agreement finalizes a preliminary accord reached on Tuesday. A state-owned Hungarian company and Russian natural gas giant Gazprom will set up a 50-50 joint venture to build the pipeline stretch, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday. The annual capacity of the stretch is projected at no less than 10 billion cubic meters, Gyurcsany said Tuesday. The stretch is expected to cost approximately U.S. $2 billion, he added. Russia and Hungary also agreed to build a gas storage facility with a capacity of 1 billion cubic meters, Gyurcsany said. The South Stream pipeline is expected to be built by Gazprom and Italian energy company Eni. The pipeline is expected to run from Russia under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and then branch into two stretches. The first stretch is expected to run to the southwest via Bulgaria and Greece to Italy. The second stretch is expected to run to the northwest via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Austria. The pipeline's annual capacity is projected at 30 billion cubic meters.
