Brussels, 15/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - Whether it rivals or complements the pan-European Nabucco project, depending on whether it is its detractors or its defenders who are talking, the Italian-Russian South Stream gas pipeline project took a further step towards completion last weekend, with the signature of an agreement between Bulgaria and Russian to create a joint venture to build and operate its Bulgarian section.
The Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin signed an agreement in Sofia on Saturday 13 November, between the Bulgarian public company Bulgarian Energy Holding and the Russian gas company Gazprom, which will each own 50% of the new company, to be responsible for carrying out surveys, building and then operating the Bulgarian section of the pipeline which will bring Russian gas 3,600 kilometres to Western Europe, avoiding Ukraine. Speaking to the press, Putin stressed the “importance of South Stream for Europe”, pointing out that France had also joined the project. Describing South Stream as a “genuinely European project”, Borisov stated that the texts signed on Saturday had already been approved by Günther Oettinger. This was confirmed on Monday by the spokesperson to the energy commissioner, Marlene Holzer, who stated that the European Commission had helped the Bulgarian authorities to amend the texts signed on Saturday, to ensure that they were in full compliance with European law. Holzer went on to state that Bulgaria had yet to amend the inter-governmental agreements signed with Russia in 2008. Although it states that Sofia must provide full and unrestricted transit, the agreement requires clarification on non-discriminatory access to third parties, a basic tenet of European law in energy matters.
South Stream, a joint-venture between Gazprom and the Italian ENI, will have a capacity of 63 billion m3 a year. Its Bulgarian section will be in operation by the end of 2015, with the whole project up and running by 2018. (E.H./transl.fl)