MOSCOW, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Natural gas pipelines for Russian gas deliveries to Europe might have economic benefits but they carry risks as well , an economist said. Russia started filling its Nord Stream gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea to Germany with so-called buffer gas early this month. Negotiations are continuing with the potential European hosts of the South Stream gas pipeline through southern Europe. Both projects are seen as alternatives to conventional pipelines through Ukraine. Alexei Khaitun , an economist at the Institute of Europe's Center of Energy Policy , said both projects might allay some political concerns tied to Ukraine's gas transit system but there might be long-term problems. "The entire amount of natural gas produced in Russia is already distributed between the existing pipelines ," he told state-run news agency RIA Novosti. "To redistribute it to South Stream would be inefficient , although politically rewarding to some extent." Political squabbles over contracts and debt prompted Russian gas company Gazprom , most recently in 2009 , to cut gas supplies to Ukraine. That left Europeans in the cold as most of their gas from Russian runs through Soviet-era pipelines in Ukraine. Khaitun said , however , that because of the cost associated with shipping and building gas pipelines underwater, the Ukrainian route "is still the most efficient way of gas transportation."Related Topics Articles：

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