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From Bulgaria
04.03.2015 17:19
© Press Service of Bulgarian Council of Ministers
Sofia and Baku will insist on the revival of the cancelled Nabucco gas pipeline project before the European Commission (EC), Bulgarian PM Boiko Borissov stated following his meeting with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev today in Sofia.
Nabucco was cancelled, after the operator of the Caspian Shah Deniz 2 field preferred the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) via Turkey, Greece and Albania, instead of the more northern route via Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.
“We want to restart the Nabucco project and, more precisely, its Bulgarian stretch. […] It is a project of both the EU and NATO, we have invested in the Nabucco project and the Southern Gas Corridor for years”, Borissov said, as quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio.
He stressed that Bulgaria possesses a regional “strategic advantage”, as Azerbaijan has offered the state-owned gas grid operator Bulgartransgaz to become shareholder "in their company". What is more, Bulgaria will get more than the initially getiated 1 billion cub. m y/y from Azerbaijan.
Recently, during a visit to Bucharest, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev stated that the gas interconnectors with Greece and Romania will provide a further route for the Caspian gas, mediapool.bg writes. Aliyev and his Bulgarian counterpart Rossen Plevneliev signed a joint statement on a Strategic Partnership Agreement.
Borissov expects the EC to support the Nabucco revival idea, while Bulgarian vice-PM Tomislav Dontchev and Azerbaijani energy minister Natig Aliyev will discuss the execution of the Southern gas Corridor.
Bulgaria's PM commented on the dynamic nature of energy projects in the recent months, alluding to the alleged cancellation of the South Stream gas pipeline.
"No official confirmation of the cancellation has been sent yet", Borissov said, as quoted by Focus News.
After today's meeting between Aliyev and Borissov it became clear that a planned gas hub near the Black Sea city of Varna could help convince Russia to build a branch of Turkish Stream towards Bulgaria, while also providing infrastructure for transiting Caspian gas. As with gas interconnectors with neighbouring countries, Bulgaria intends to apply for European funding for its planned gas hub.
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