Slovenian gas discovered

The Slovenian Minister of Economy, Darja Radic, said that natural gas had been found in Slovenia's north-eastern region of Pomurje. The find is very encouraging, especially in the light of supply interruptions caused by recent unrest in North Africa, she pointed out.

"We have started drilling in Pomurje, research has been made and we already have the first find," Radic said about a find in Petisovci made by a British company.

Slovenia is currently getting gas from Algeria and Russia and the minister believes that a third, local source of gas would be the best way to secure stability of supply.

Asked about the South Stream pipeline project of Russian gas giant Gazprom which is supposed to run trough Slovenia, Radic said the project was "interesting" but that nothing had been decided yet. "It is not certain yet whether the project will be implemented or not," she said.