"The original Nord Stream was funded by project finance. We believe raising multi-billion dollar project financing for Nord Stream 2 in the capital markets would probably be much harder now. This is because Western sanctions have significantly hindered international funding to Russian corporates, even those not directly sanctioned," Fitch said.

The two PMs were reacting to a preliminary agreement between Russian giant Gazprom and Western energy concerns including BASF, E.ON, ENGIE, OMV and Shell on doubling the transport capacity of Nord Stream in early September.

Top-flight Western firms such as Shell, E.On, BASF, and Engie (formerly GDF Suez) have banded together with Russia’s Gazprom to double the capacity of Nord Stream, with hopes it will be operational by late 2019.

The Turkish Stream project is a Russian proposal which will transport Russian gas to Europe while bypassing Ukraine. The project is planned to carry 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe via the Turkish-Greek border. Turkey is due to receive 15.75 billion cubic meters out of the total capacity of the pipeline.

Bulgaria’s Cabinet was preparing to seek damages for the idled properties that were due to host infrastructure for the now-abandoned South Stream gas pipeline, with the government approving on August 26 the methodology for calculating such damages.

Bulgaria didn't quit the South Stream gas pipeline project, Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova has said.

Russian energy giant Gazprom estimates the cost of constructing the first branch of the Turkish Stream pipeline at €4.3 billion ($4.72 billion), while the overall price tag for all four legs of this project are estimated at €11.4 billion, First Deputy Head of Gazprom's Project Management Department Aleksei Serebryakov said Monday.

As at the end of 2014, Africa has proven natural gas reserves of just under 500 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) with 90% of the continent’s annual natural gas production still coming from Nigeria, Libya, Algeria and Egypt.

Running from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, Nord Stream I is an export gas pipeline with an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters. Nord Stream AG is the project operator (Gazprom holds 51 per cent, Wintershall and E.ON – 15.5 per cent and ENGIE – 9 per cent).

After the cancellation of the South Stream natural gas pipeline last December due to the EU’s blockage of the project, Russia announced an alternative project called the Turkish Stream which will hit the shore on the European side of Turkey near Kıyıköy.