Gazprom said in a statement that it had signed a memorandum of mutual understanding with Romania's Transgas S.A to establish a joint group of experts, who will conduct a technical and economic assessment of the pipeline construction in Romania.
"If the results of the assessment are positive, Gazprom and Transgas will suggest signing a Russian-Romanian intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the South Stream project in the first quarter of 2011," the statement said. "The agreement will be the political, international and legal basis for further development of the project in Romania."
If the intergovernmental agreement is signed, the companies will try to sign a similar agreement at a corporate level as soon as possible, the statement said.
The Russian government has signed intergovernmental agreements with Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia and Austria on the implementation of the land phase of the South Stream project.
The completed pipeline will ship up to 63 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year under the Black Sea to central and southern Europe.
South Stream, launched in 2007, is seen as a rival to the U.S.-backed Nabucco pipeline, which is planned to transport Caspian natural gas to Austria.
