Despite an unceremonious end to the controversial South Stream mega-pipeline, Russia remains outspoken and determined in its effort to carve Ukraine entirely out of its European natural gas deliveries which accounted for 62 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Gazprom’s European-bound exports in 2014. Formally announced in 2007, South Stream had been the centerpiece of this effort. However, with its abandonment, the question becomes whether and when Russia’s state-owned Gazprom might accomplish such an ambitious objective, using alternative export pipelines and existing EU internal infrastructure. At first glance, it appears to be more rhetoric than reality. …read more
Source: Atlantic Council