(MOSCOW) - Russian gas giant Gazprom has delayed by at least two years the launch of the South Stream pipeline linking Russia to southern Europe, a newspaper reported Friday, citing a company document.

The pipeline would be operational by 2015, the document said, two years later than a launch date Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller gave in January, said the Vedomosti daily.

Gazprom spokesman Denis Ignatyev told AFP the 2013 date was "preliminary" and said a concrete completion date would only become clear in late 2009.

The pipeline, which is to be developed by Gazprom and Italy's ENI, is to become a major artery bringing gas from Russia across the Black Sea to southern Europe.

Gazprom has already secured the agreement of Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary and Serbia for the project. Austria and Slovenia may also take part.

The pipeline will have a capacity of 31 billion cubic metres per year, Vedomosti reported, citing the Gazprom document, which details the company's strategy to 2030.

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