Gazprom, ENI agree to step up work on South Stream project

MOSCOW, January 16 (Itar-Tass) -- Gazprom and the Italian oil and gas company ENI step up work on the South Stream pipeline project, the Russian gas holding said.

The day before, Gazprom and ENI heads Alexei Miller and Paolo Scaroni during their meeting noted the particular timeliness of the project in the situation of the current crisis of Russian gas transit to Europe across Ukraine.

Particularly important in the situation is the issue of diversification of gas export routes, including the South Stream that will directly link Russia and Europe and consolidate the continent's energy security, the Russian holding noted in its report.

Gazprom and ENI have agreed to step up the work of their joint group on preparation for implementation of the project, it said.

Italy is the second largest Russian gas importer in Europe.