Deputy PM Says Serbia to Halt South Stream Until Bulgarian Section Gets Go Ahead

Tuesday, 10 June 2014

Serbian deputy prime minister Zorana Mihajlovic said on Monday that the country will have to delay the launch of the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline on its territory until its eastern neighbour Bulgaria gets clearance to proceed with the project, local media reported.

During the weekend Bulgarian prime minister Plamen Oresharski said the government in Sofia is suspending works on the pipeline after the European Commission launched an infringement procedure against the country in connection with the project's implementation.

Bulgaria lies on the pipeline's main route and until its government reaches an agreement with Brussels and until the European Union resolves its problems with Russia, Serbia will have to delay the launch of the pipeline's construction, Mihajlovic said, as quoted by daily Blic.

Another option is for Russia to change the route of the South Stream pipeline, she added.

The planned South Stream gas pipeline will carry gas from Russia to central and southern Europe via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia, reaching its full capacity of some 63 billion cubic metres per year by 2017. The total value of the Gazprom-spearheaded project is estimated at some 16 billion euro ($21.84 billion).

State-owned gas monopoly Srbijagas, which manages the construction of the South Stream section in Serbia, is set to sign in June a deal with a general contractor, which should build the Serbian section of the pipeline.

"Activities on this project will not be put to a hold unless the government in Belgrade decides otherwise," Blic quoted an unnamed Srbijagas official as saying.

Source: SeeNews
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