Russia and Austria are set to establish a joint venture to implement the South Stream oil pipeline project, according to an aide to the Russian president.

      The two countries are expected to sign the agreement during the Russian president’s visit to Austria, the news agency RIA-Novosti cites Yury Ushakov as saying.

      The deal on SouthStream Austria is supposed to be inked by Gazprom’s chief Alexey Miller and the CEO of OMV Gerhard Roiss.

      Earlier, the European Commission has requested the EU member states to suspend the works on the South Stream project until Gazprom complies with the Third Energy Charter rules. In June, Bulgaria announced it would put the project on hold.

      OMV, formerly known as Österreichische Mineralölverwaltung, is a Vienna-headquartered international oil and gas company whose main businesses are exploration and production of oil and gas, natural gas distribution and power generation, and refining and marketing oil products, according to its page on Wikipedia. “With group sales of €42.41 billion, a global workforce of 26,800 in 2013 and a market capitalization of € 11.35 billion (end of 2013), OMV is the largest listed manufacturing company in Austria,” reads the Wikipedia page.