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Schroeder Named Chairman of Gas Pipeline:Posted By: William "Bill" Buckington By ALEX NICHOLSON, AP Business Writer MOSCOW - Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was appointed chairman on Thursday of the consortium building a strategically vital gas pipeline linking Russia's vast reserves with German markets — and awarded a salary of about $300,000.Schroeder joined executives from the Russian and German companies OAO Gazprom, BASF AG and E.On AG in Moscow for an inaugural meeting of the consortium. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller announced the appointment, as well as that of Mathias Warnig, the former head of Dresdner Bank AG's Moscow office, as the consortium's managing director. Schroeder's nomination had provoked a storm of criticism that he allegedly used his official position for personal gain. A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Schroeder had been a strong advocate of the project while in office. "I am not pleased about the criticism, of course, but I am happy with this new job," Schroeder said through a translator. He said the criticism was something he could "live with," but insisted he had been independently appointed by the consortium's shareholders. "I played no role in the companies' decision," he said. Gazprom holds a controlling 51 percent stake in the consortium, while BASF and E.On each have 24.5 percent. The former German leader said the pipeline's construction was critical to cover Europe's demand for natural gas. He dismissed suggestions that the new project would siphon off supplies traveling through an existing pipeline taking Russian natural gas to Europe via Ukraine. "It's not aimed against anyone," he said. The more than $4.8 billion project envisions two parallel pipelines — each with a capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters per year, stretching 750 miles under the Baltic sea between Russia and Greifswald on the German coast. Construction of the on-land Russian leg began in December and the first pipeline is due to be completed by 2010. With both pipes operative, the route will satisfy 10 percent of the European Union's total demand, said Burckhard Bergman, the chairman of the management board of E.On Ruhrgas. In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier defended the pipeline plan and the former chancellor, and said Schroeder's appointment was "useful from a German perspective." In an interview in Thursday's Handelsblatt newspaper, Steinmeier said many Western countries had expressed interest in joining the pipeline. "This really justifies the project," said Steinmeier, who served as Schroeder's chief of staff when he was chancellor. Russia began building the Baltic Sea pipeline in September to diversify supply routes, especially to Germany, the largest foreign customer of Gazprom. BASF and E.On are the German partners. Courtesy Of: Yahoo! News The information reported above is property of Yahoo! inc. and reprinted or modified with legitimate permission. We thank Yahoo! inc. for the kind cooperation with us and other shareholders. |
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