Russia expressed readiness to renew negotiations on the construction of
the planned oil pipeline between the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Burgas
and the Greek Aegean Sea port of Alexandroupoli.
This was announced by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak at the
Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday, TASS
news agency informs. Novak said that the discussion will take place on
Friday at his forthcoming meeting with Bulgarian Energy Minister
Temenuzhka Petkova.
The intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the pipeline was
signed between Bulgaria, Greece and Russia on 15 March 2007. The
pipeline was meant to supply Russian oil to Alexandroupoli through
Bulgarian territory, bypassing the busy Bosphorus and Dardanelles
straits. The pipeline was projected to have a length of 285 kilometres
with an initial annual capacity of 35 million tonnes of oil, which was
foreseen to increase to 50 million tonnes.
In December 2011, the Bulgarian government announced its withdrawal
from the project and the majority of Bulgarian MPs voted in favour of
terminating the intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the
pipeline as it was deemed not economically sound.
Greek Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis expressed similar interest
towards renewing the talks on the pipeline, as the country was aiming to
become the energy hub of the region.
(hbcbg.com)
(hbcbg.com)
