South Stream

The South Stream Project (2007-2014) was one of the world's largest energy infrastructure projects. A joint project of 4 largest energy companies from Europe (ENI, EDF, WIntershall and Gazprom), it planned to connect a total of eight European countries contributing to securing Europe's future energy supply. South Stream Pipeline System project was planned to transport natural gas from Russia through the Black Sea to Bulgaria and through Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia further to Austria connecting Russia’s largest gas reserves to the European energy grid. South Stream aimed at providing safe, efficient and affordable energy creating many jobs and increasing economic growth of central European countries. After having been seven years in the talks and works with five EU member states, the project was suddenly found in non-compliance with European Union's competition and energy legislation, in particular, the Third Energy Package, which stipulates the separation of companies' generation and sale operations from their transmission networks. The project was cancelled in December 2014 following obstacles from Bulgaria and the EU, the 2014 Crimean crisis, and the imposition of European sanctions on Russia. The project has been replaced by the development of the Turk Stream pipeline. turkstream.info