Bulgaria Approves the Ecological Risk Assessment for South Stream

Bulgaria no longer concerned over South Stream's environmental impact

Bulgaria’s Ministry of Environment and Waters has approved the ecological risk assessment report for the South Stream project.



The South Stream gas pipeline will connect Russia and the Balkans through the Black Sea, pumping Russian gas to Southern and Central Europe with Bulgaria as the main gas distribution center. For Bulgaria, it means up to 3 billion euros worth of investments plus thousands of new jobs. Despite the obvious advantages, Bulgaria has for a long time been the project’s most sensitive spot, says Sergei Pravosudov, Director of the National Energy Institute.

"Bulgaria was the hardest to deal with, which even prompted discussions as to whether the pipeline should be rerouted to Romania instead of Bulgaria. But then understanding was reached and Bulgaria eventually backed the project. There will be public hearings, of course, but that’s a standard procedure. It is necessary to convince the Bulgarian public that the pipeline will match all safety requirements".



That may prove easy for Russia’s Gazprom, given its pipeline construction and maintenance experience worldwide.



Some analysts think that Bulgaria’s fears over South Stream had little to do with ecological risks. Gas pipelines like that are, above all, major geopolitical projects with environmental or other concerns rooted in the political interests of the parties involved. Bulgaria had to look back at the European Union and the United States. Washington took an openly negative stance on South Stream and campaigned for the alternative Nabucco pipeline from Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan to Europe. It was not until it became clear that there wasn’t enough gas to fill Nabucco that the Americans dropped their aggressive rhetoric towards South Stream. A discount on the price of Russian gas for Bulgaria erased the remaining “environmental” concerns.

Alexei Gromov, General Director of the National Energy Institute, comments on the issue:

"A few months ago, Russia offered Bulgaria a 20% discount on gas supplies under long-term contracts in a bid to persuade it to approve South Steam. This will save Bulgaria at least one billion euro. All of Bulgaria’s subsequent moves stem from that Russian offer."



At present, there seems to be no technical, financial or other obstacles for the project to go ahead. All restrictions regarding the underwater section of the pipeline have been lifted. Agreements for South Stream’s land sections have been signed with Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia and Austria. The pipeline is set be completed by 2015.

Source: Voice of Russia