site.btaBulgaria Not Notified of South Stream Project Termination

Bulgaria Not Notified of South Stream Project Termination

Sofia, January 20 (BTA) - Bulgaria has not been officially notified that the South Stream gas pipeline project has been terminated, the Energy Ministry in Sofia said on Wednesday, reacting to a report by Russia's TASS news agency that the agreement on the South Stream project has been dissolved.

TASS said Gazprom's board of directors has approved the agreements concluded by Gazprom with South Stream Transport B.V. on termination of the contract of suretyship regarding obligations of Gazprom Export on the gas transportation agreement from October 2, 2013. South Stream Transport B.V. agreed to free Gazprom from fulfilling all obligations on the contract of suretyship regarding obligations of Gazprom Export on the gas transportation agreement from October 2, 2013 and dissolve the contract.

Earlier Bulgarian media reported that the works on the South Stream project would be resumed within a few weeks, TASS recalled. On December 1, 2014 President Vladimir Putin said Russia will not implement the South Stream project amid the current environment, the Russian news agency said.

Gas expert and member of the Governing Board of the Bulgarian Energy and Mining Forum Hristo Kazandjiev said, commenting the news about the termination of the project, that the decision to end it is good for Bulgaria.

According to Kazandjiev, the project was unfavourable to Bulgaria, both economically and politically. The expert said that the decision is good for the Bulgarian finances as well, because a huge resource that was paid in the South Stream Bulgaria company should now be returned to this country. Kazandjiev noted that the absence of a final decision on the project's termination until now made it necessary to maintain the project and spend money for this.

Kazandjiev also said that Bulgaria must seriously reconsider its priorities in the gas area and invest the resources freed up from South Stream in projects in the country's interest. In his words, one such project is the transnational project for constructing a terminal for liquefied petroleum gas at the Aegean coast in Greece. Kazandjiev said that this project should be international, should include Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Macedonia, Romania and all Balkan countries, and should be implemented as soon as possible. Another project in Bulgaria's interest is the gas interconnector with Romania which he said should be a reverse facility.