Eni SpA Chief Executive
Paolo Scaroni said Tuesday the negotiations on financing the multibillion-euro
natural gas South Stream pipeline will be "somewhat complex."
South Stream will have about 27 banks involved in the financing, said Scaroni,
speaking on the sidelines of a parliamentary hearing in Rome.
The South Stream project, headed by Eni, Italy's biggest energy company by market value,
and Russian gas producer OAO Gazprom, aims to bring gas from the Caspian area
under the Black Sea and landing in Bulgaria,
bypassing Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said South Stream may
be finished before 2013.
Eni's CEO confirmed a final investment decision is scheduled for next year.
Eni and Gazprom haven't started negotiations with Electricite de France SA for
the French utility to take a minority stake in South Stream, Scaroni said. Eni's
CEO said he expects the issue to progress when Russian premier goes to Paris in the coming weeks.