Burgas-Alexandroupolis council to discuss Bulgarian debt - source
MOSCOW. Nov 8 (Interfax) - The supervisory council of Trans-Balkan Pipeline B.V. (TBP), the operator of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline project, plans at its next meeting to discuss repayment of Bulgarian debt, a source close to the project told Interfax.
At the last council meeting in the summer, Bulgaria promised to repay its debt and pay its dues to the project following approval of the environmental impact statement.
"At the next meeting, the issue of project funding from Bulgaria, which promised to repay debt and pay its dues after environmental impact statement approval, will probably be raised," he said.
Greece plans to continue providing funding for the project after Bulgaria meets its financial obligations, he said. "If there is money the project will be developed," he added.
Public hearings on the project should be held in Bulgaria before June and that will require financing, the source said.
The Bulgarian Environment Ministry approved the environmental impact statement for the Burgas-Alexandroupolis project on November 3.
The statement's approval was postponed on various occasions. Initially it was expected to be approved in February 2011. This was later extended to March 28 and then for a further two months. The Bulgarian Environment Ministry in June sent the statement back for further work until August 23. Bulgaria approved a request from TBP to extend the deadline for the statement to September 30. Bulgaria said more than once that the project was a risk to the environment and not in its benefit. Russia has said it could freeze the project in the fall, possibly after the November 4 hearings. Bulgaria owned 7.3 million euros on the project at the beginning of 2011.
The Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline, which is to be laid through Greece and Bulgaria, will bypass the congested Bosporus and Dardanelles straits.It will be 300 kilometers in length and have the capacity to transport 35 million tonnes of crude per year with the opportunity to increase that to 50 million tonnes. Construction was estimated to cost around 1 billion euros.
The founders of Trans-Balkan Pipeline B.V. are Russia's TK-BA with 51%, Bulgaria's Project Company Burgas-Alexandroupolis BG with 24.5%, Helle C.A. - Traki C.A. of Greece with 23.5%, and the Greek government with 1%. The founders of TK-BA were Russian oil pipeline company Transneft with 33.34%, Gazprom Neft with 33.33%, and Rosneft , also with 33.33%.
