Construction of the South Stream gas pipeline, which will supply Russian and Central Asian natural gas to Europe under the Black Sea, may be finished before 2013 as originally planned, Russia's Prime Minister said Thursday.
"The South Stream pipeline has good chances of being built ahead of schedule, given the current positive dynamics surrounding the project," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The spokesman was citing the Russian Prime Minister during a conversation Thursday in St. Petersburg with his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi.
Monday, Turkey approved Russia's request to begin a feasibility study on the South Stream gas pipeline in Turkish waters.
The project partners - Russia's OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) and Italy's ENI SpA (E) - now expect a feasibility study of the pipeline project to be finished at the beginning of 2010, with construction likely to begin by year-end.