Bulgaria's Eco Min Oks South Stream Offshore Section EIA Study

Bulgaria’s environment ministry approved the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report on the country's offshore section of the South Stream gas pipeline, the ministry said on Monday.

The high expert environmental council with the environment ministry has unanimously adopted a decision to approve the implementation of the investment proposal for the construction of the Bulgarian offshore section of the South Stream gas pipeline, the environment ministry said in a press release.

The Gazprom-spearheaded South Stream pipeline will supply natural gas from Russia to central and southeastern Europe. Its offshore part will run from Russia's Black Sea shore across the Turkish exclusive economic zone to the Bulgarian cost near Varna and will consist of four pipeline strings with annual capacity expected to reach 63 billion cubic metres. Commercial operation is scheduled to start by the end of 2015.

The Bulgarian section of the project will be approximately 236 kilometers in length. It runs from the border between the Turkish and the Bulgarian exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, to the landfall in Bulgaria. From there, natural gas will be transported through the country by South Stream Bulgaria AD and further by other joint ventures into Southeast and Central Europe.

Reacting to public concern on the project's possible effect on the Pasha Dere Beach near Varna, South Stream Transport, the company in charge of the construction of the offshore section of the pipeline, has developed an alternative construction method which does not involve any construction or digging works taking place at the surface, the ministry said.

The EIA Report was prepared by the independent international company URS Infrastructure & Environment UK Ltd., based in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with two Bulgarian environmental consulting companies, POVVIK AD and Geomarine Ltd. South Stream Transport has said.

Source: SeeNews