Eni and Gazprom have signed a Memorandum of Understanding permitting EDF to enter South Stream AG.

The French company will acquire a stake in the Italian-Russian joint venture, which has been put in place to build the infrastructure across the Black Sea to bring gas to Europe.

The agreement was reached in Saint Petersburg, during the International Economic Forum, and will be sanctioned in a summit between the President of Russian Federation, Dimitri Medvedev, and the President of the Republic of France, Nicolas Sarkozy. The deal also confirms the agreements on gas volumes that Gazprom will provide to Eni through the South Stream pipeline and that Eni will sell on the European markets.

Tags: Eni Norge AS, Gazprom