"Let me repeat, total cost on- and offshore will no doubt exceed Eur10 billion," Kramer said.
Kramer corrected an interpretation error made earlier in the day.
Earlier Tuesday, Kramer, who was speaking at a gas forum in Moscow, was translated as saying that the project's offshore section would cost more than Eur10 billion.
"We haven't seen the budget figures yet but the total cost of the offshore section will exceed Eur10 billion," Kramer was cited as saying.
South Stream is to carry up to 63 billion cubic meters/year of Russian gas across the Black Sea to Bulgaria, where it will split into two paths to be built by Gazprom jointly with local partners. One line is planned to run southwest to Greece and into southern Italy, and the other is to travel via Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia to northern Italy, with an offshoot to Austria.
In October, Kramer said the technical and feasibility studies for the pipeline are expected in 2011 with first gas through the pipeline by late 2015.
Eni has previously evaluated the entire project cost at around $25 billion.
French utility EDF is expected to take between a 10% and 20% stake in South Stream from Eni's stake by the end of the year. Currently, Gazprom and Eni each hold a 50% stake in the South Stream project.
