South Stream could pass through Romania, rather than Bulgaria

The feasibility study dealing with the building of South Stream gas duct will take into account the pipeline passing through Romania, instead of Bulgaria, Mediafax reported, quoting Gazprom vice-president Alexander Medvedev's Friday statement to RIA Novosti. The company official said the group is contemplating the South Stream gas duct passing through Romania, instead of Bulgaria, and will prepare technical calculations for this likelihood. "This will be stipulated in the feasibility study we will prepare for 2011," he said.

Early last week, Gazprom and Economy Minister Adriean Videanu discussed Romania's likely participation in the South Stream project. In an interview with television station bTV, Bulgaria's president Georgi Parvanov said he suspected talks between the Romanian side and Gazprom have been going on for quite some time. Parvanov also criticised work coming to a halt on two other projects unfolding in partnership with Russia, namely the oil duct Burgas - Alexandroupolis, and the Belene nuclear plant. In a concurrent interview aired by bTV's rival television station, NOVA, Premier Boyko Borisov said there was no such thing as a South Stream problem, and the project will be put into practice.

The South Stream feasibility study should be concluded by February 2011, with the gas duct to be ready by 2015. Thursday's issue of Russian publication Kommersant wrote it was likely for Romania to replace Bulgaria as far as the South Stream project is concerned, given Sofia put on hold other two joint projects with Russia, the Burgas - Alexandroupolis oil duct and the Belene nuclear plant.

Nine O'Clock