The Russian energy giant Gazprom is launching in the beginning of 2011 the study of the sea segment of the gas pipeline South Stream.

The information was reported Saturday by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, citing Gazprom's CEO Alexey Miller.

The study will begin as soon as the technology and economy feasibility assessment of the project is ready.

The South Stream gas transit pipeline is supposed to be ready by 2015. Its construction is expected to cost between EUR 19 B and EUR 24 B. It will be transporting 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, or 35% of Russia's total annual natural gas export to Europe.

The South Stream pipe will start near Novorosiysk on the Russian Black Sea coast, and will go to Bulgaria's Varna; the underwater section will be 900 km long.

In Bulgaria, the pipe is supposed to split in two - one pipeline going to Greece and Southern Italy, and another one going to Austria and Northern Italy through Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia.

The segment from the Russian to the Bulgarian coast will be 900-km-long and 2-km-deep.

South Stream aims at diversifying the routes for the delivery of Russian natural gas to European customers' through the Black Sea to countries in Southern and Central Europe.

On November 13, Bulgaria and Russia signed an intergovernmental agreement for the construction of the Bulgarian section of the South Stream gas transit pipeline in the presence of their Prime Ministers, Boyko Borisov and Vladimir Putin, in Sofia.

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