Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.8 / Trend A. Badalova /
Bulgaria should become an active player in the negotiation process in the energy sphere with the countries of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea regions, as well as the Middle East, Bulgarian media outlets quote the country's President Georgi Purvanov, as saying.
"Bulgaria should not just wait and watch, it should become an active factor, a reliable partner in the negotiations with the countries of the Black Sea, the Caspian region and Middle East. No European country pursues such an active policy on relations with the countries of these regions," Purvanov said.
Admitting the fact that the Nabucco pipeline project is a particular priority for the EU, the Bulgarian President insists that Russia's South Stream project should take an appropriate place in the EU plans.
"Nabucco" is worth 7.9 billion euro, with its construction scheduled to start in 2012 and the first supplies to be commissioned in 2015. The project's participants include the Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE, each having an equal 16.67 percent share. The pipeline's maximum capacity will hit 31 billion cubic meters per year.
South Stream project envisages the creation of a new route of gas supplies to Europe. It is implemented by the Italian ENI and Gazprom. The project provides for South Stream's offshore section to run under the Black Sea from the Russian coast (Beregovaya compressor station) to the Bulgarian coast. The pipeline offshore section with the length of around 900 km and maximum depth exceeding 2,000 m will connect the Russian and the Bulgarian costs under the Black Sea. According to plans, the South Stream project is supposed to go into service by 2014. The pipeline's capacity should reach 63 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Total investment in the project is estimated at 25 billion euros.