Russia Expresses Readiness to Renew Talks on Burgas-Alexandroupoli Pipeline

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.

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