se times
15/11/2010
After spending Saturday in Sofia, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin headed home with agreements on a key gas pipeline project and a puppy.
(Euobserver, Sofia Echo, The Moscow Times - 15/11/10; Sofia News Agency, Dnevnik.bg, Mediapool - 14/11/10; AFP, Reuters, Bloomberg, DPA, Sofia News Agency, FOCUS News Agency, Dnevnik.bg, Bgnes, Official Website of the Bulgarian Government - 13/11/10)
After spending Saturday in Sofia, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin headed home with agreements on a key gas pipeline project and a puppy.
(Euobserver, Sofia Echo, The Moscow Times - 15/11/10; Sofia News Agency, Dnevnik.bg, Mediapool - 14/11/10; AFP, Reuters, Bloomberg, DPA, Sofia News Agency, FOCUS News Agency, Dnevnik.bg, Bgnes, Official Website of the Bulgarian Government - 13/11/10)
Bulgaria and Russia signed two agreements on the South Stream gas pipeline project and a third on the implementation of a social security accord during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's daylong working visit to Sofia on Saturday (November 13th).
The shareholder agreement for a 50-50 joint venture to build and run the Bulgarian section of the pipeline carrying Russian natural gas to Europe and the articles of association of the company were signed by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and the head of the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), Maya Hristova.
South Stream Bulgaria, as the new business is called, is expected to be registered by the end of this month. It will be based in Sofia and "will keep its funds at the [joint venture], which is 100% state-owned," Prime Minister Boyko Borisov explained.
Under a roadmap deal the two countries reached earlier this year aimed at speeding up work on the project run by Gazprom and Italy's Eni, the joint venture was due to be established by February 2011. The South Stream pipeline might thus become fully operational four months ahead of schedule, Miller said in Sofia.
Construction is slated to start in 2013 and to be completed by December 31st 2015, according to the original plans. The pipeline, including a 900km-long offshore section linking the Black Sea ports of Novorosiysk in Russia and Varna in Bulgaria, is designed to transport Russian natural gas to Europe, bypassing Ukraine. Initially, it will be carrying 30 billion cubic metres of gas each year. Last year, Gazprom and Eni agreed to increase South Stream's annual capacity to 63 billion cubic metres by 2018.
Once that happens, Bulgaria will be receiving $2.4 billion annually in transit fees from the pipeline, according to Putin.
"[The] material benefit for Bulgaria is obvious," the Russian prime minister said, hailing Saturday's move as "a key step towards the implementation of the pipeline". The cost of the project is expected to be established by the end of March. According to some reports, it could be between 19 billion euros and 24 billion euros.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart, Putin suggested that other European companies may join South Stream. Aside from French company EDF, which has agreed to get an at least 10% stake in the project, some German firms have expressed interest in it, Gazprom said earlier.
South Stream is widely viewed as a rival to the US and EU-backed Nabucco pipeline project, which is designed to carry 31 billion cubic metres of natural gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East to Europe annually and reduce the EU's dependence on Russian supplies.
Borisov, whose country is involved in that project as well, indicated on Saturday that Bulgaria considers it as important as South Stream.
The shareholder agreement for a 50-50 joint venture to build and run the Bulgarian section of the pipeline carrying Russian natural gas to Europe and the articles of association of the company were signed by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and the head of the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), Maya Hristova.
South Stream Bulgaria, as the new business is called, is expected to be registered by the end of this month. It will be based in Sofia and "will keep its funds at the [joint venture], which is 100% state-owned," Prime Minister Boyko Borisov explained.
Under a roadmap deal the two countries reached earlier this year aimed at speeding up work on the project run by Gazprom and Italy's Eni, the joint venture was due to be established by February 2011. The South Stream pipeline might thus become fully operational four months ahead of schedule, Miller said in Sofia.
Construction is slated to start in 2013 and to be completed by December 31st 2015, according to the original plans. The pipeline, including a 900km-long offshore section linking the Black Sea ports of Novorosiysk in Russia and Varna in Bulgaria, is designed to transport Russian natural gas to Europe, bypassing Ukraine. Initially, it will be carrying 30 billion cubic metres of gas each year. Last year, Gazprom and Eni agreed to increase South Stream's annual capacity to 63 billion cubic metres by 2018.
Once that happens, Bulgaria will be receiving $2.4 billion annually in transit fees from the pipeline, according to Putin.
"[The] material benefit for Bulgaria is obvious," the Russian prime minister said, hailing Saturday's move as "a key step towards the implementation of the pipeline". The cost of the project is expected to be established by the end of March. According to some reports, it could be between 19 billion euros and 24 billion euros.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart, Putin suggested that other European companies may join South Stream. Aside from French company EDF, which has agreed to get an at least 10% stake in the project, some German firms have expressed interest in it, Gazprom said earlier.
South Stream is widely viewed as a rival to the US and EU-backed Nabucco pipeline project, which is designed to carry 31 billion cubic metres of natural gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East to Europe annually and reduce the EU's dependence on Russian supplies.
Borisov, whose country is involved in that project as well, indicated on Saturday that Bulgaria considers it as important as South Stream.
"Of course we work on Nabucco with the same speed ... so that Bulgaria will indeed become an energy hub in the Balkans," he said.
During the talks, Borisov also urged Russia to cut natural gas prices for his country. According to Russian media reports, Gazprom is likely to offer Bulgaria a reduction of between 5% and 7% by the end of 2012.
The two delegations also discussed boosting ties in other fields, including trade, culture and tourism. Putin, who received a Bulgarian shepherd dog as a gift from Borisov, seemed pleased with the outcome of his working visit, expressing "satisfaction" with the negotiations.
Borisov, whose government threatened to suspend all major energy deals with Russia when it took office in July 2009, stressed on Saturday that relations between the two countries "are now pragmatic" and driven by interests of mutual benefit.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com
During the talks, Borisov also urged Russia to cut natural gas prices for his country. According to Russian media reports, Gazprom is likely to offer Bulgaria a reduction of between 5% and 7% by the end of 2012.
The two delegations also discussed boosting ties in other fields, including trade, culture and tourism. Putin, who received a Bulgarian shepherd dog as a gift from Borisov, seemed pleased with the outcome of his working visit, expressing "satisfaction" with the negotiations.
Borisov, whose government threatened to suspend all major energy deals with Russia when it took office in July 2009, stressed on Saturday that relations between the two countries "are now pragmatic" and driven by interests of mutual benefit.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com
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