South Stream says undersea construction to begin in 2014

(MOSCOW) - Construction of the undersea section of the South Stream gas pipeline linking Russia to European consumers will only begin in 2014, the consortium said Monday after a major ceremony led by President Vladimir Putin launched the project.

Putin on Friday oversaw a ceremonial first welding of the pipeline which is due to be completed in 2015 and start pumping the gas of Russian state giant Gazprom under the Black Sea to Europe.

But South Stream acknowledged that the construction of the main section under the Black Sea would only take place in 2014 once all the environmental permits had been agreed.

"Based on this, deep-water pipelaying and landfall construction of the offshore section will commence in 2014, while most onshore construction is expected to have commenced earlier," a spokesman said in emailed comments to AFP.

"This is normal since offshore construction in general is a more complex process than onshore construction."

Russia's Vedomosti daily had said Monday that despite the fanfare of the launch ceremony, the offshore work had still not received the required permission and environmental permits.

Activists have expressed fears for the Black Sea environment while there have also been concerns about the decision to place the Russian shore hub around Anapa, a popular resort.

South Stream said it was on track to meet its main milestone, the "delivery of first gas through the first of four offshore pipelines by the end of 2015."

The Kremlin has been pushing South Stream as a way to ensure Russias gas reaches Europe, avoiding pipelines that run through its unpredictable neighbour Ukraine with whom Moscow has had bumpy relations in the past years.

However some analysts have castigated the 16.5 billion euros ($21.5 billion) project as waste of money as the pipeline is being built at a time when demand for Russian gas is predicted to wane.

The offshore section of South Stream is being built by a consortium owned 50 percent by Gazprom, 20 percent by Italy's ENI, 15 percent by France's EDF and 15 percent by Germany's Wintershall.

The pipeline is 2,380 kilometres (1,480 miles), including 925 kilometres (575 miles) offshore.

The pipeline will flow underneath Turkey's waters in the Black Sea and through the Balkans, crossing Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia and then Austria to connect with the main European pipeline network.