Energy Market's Creation to Benefit Bourgas-Alexandroupolis Pipeline Project?
The Bulgarian News Network today quoted a Kathimerini report which claimed that the troubled Bourgas-Alexandroupolis Pipeline Project may be back on track after all, with the announcement of a planned regional electricity and natural gas market. But are they getting ahead of themselves?
According to the paper, energy ministers of the Black Sea Cooperation Council agreed to create the market at a Friday meeting in Alexandroupolis, where they "...committed to work for free and secure transport of oil and gas through the Balkans as well as to speed up linking their national electricity grids."
Among regional energy projects specified in the article are "...natural gas pipelines connecting Turkey, Greece and Italy as well as Greece to Slovenia and Austria" and, most important for the Greek paper, the "...delayed oil-pipeline project meant to link Bulgaria’s Black Sea port of Burgas with Alexandroupolis."
Is Bourgas-Alexandroupolis awakening from its slumber? Greek Deputy Development Minister Giorgos Salagoudis, the article says, will go to Moscow to meet with Bulgarian and Russian officials "on a memorandum of cooperation."
At bottom, B-A has been plagued by indecision and ambivalence, reportedly, mostly from the Russian side. There has been speculation over the level of interest big Russian companies might have in the project. However, going by a March 1 ITAR-TASS report, for LUKOIL at least, any interest would be preliminary at best: speaking from Skopje, company VP Dimitry Tarasov said that despite a Greek claim that LUKOIL was interested in the project, the company "...has not received a commercial offer for construction."
And, while Tarasov said LUKOIL will "...have to take part in the pipeline construction," because it owns the port infrastructure and oil storages, they can do so "...only after its feasibility has been studied."
If correct, this quote would seem remarkable, as it would appear to be rather late in the game for feasibility studies.
According to the paper, energy ministers of the Black Sea Cooperation Council agreed to create the market at a Friday meeting in Alexandroupolis, where they "...committed to work for free and secure transport of oil and gas through the Balkans as well as to speed up linking their national electricity grids."
Among regional energy projects specified in the article are "...natural gas pipelines connecting Turkey, Greece and Italy as well as Greece to Slovenia and Austria" and, most important for the Greek paper, the "...delayed oil-pipeline project meant to link Bulgaria’s Black Sea port of Burgas with Alexandroupolis."
Is Bourgas-Alexandroupolis awakening from its slumber? Greek Deputy Development Minister Giorgos Salagoudis, the article says, will go to Moscow to meet with Bulgarian and Russian officials "on a memorandum of cooperation."
At bottom, B-A has been plagued by indecision and ambivalence, reportedly, mostly from the Russian side. There has been speculation over the level of interest big Russian companies might have in the project. However, going by a March 1 ITAR-TASS report, for LUKOIL at least, any interest would be preliminary at best: speaking from Skopje, company VP Dimitry Tarasov said that despite a Greek claim that LUKOIL was interested in the project, the company "...has not received a commercial offer for construction."
And, while Tarasov said LUKOIL will "...have to take part in the pipeline construction," because it owns the port infrastructure and oil storages, they can do so "...only after its feasibility has been studied."
If correct, this quote would seem remarkable, as it would appear to be rather late in the game for feasibility studies.
posted by EuroPipelines Editor at 3/05/2005 06:56:00 PM
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