All Bulgarian and EU environmental requirements will be met in the construction of the South Stream gas transit pipeline, the South Stream company sought to assure Bulgaria Wednesday.

A company statement clarified that the end of the underwater section of the Russian-sponsored pipeline will end on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and the starting point of the land section will be located several kilometers away from the Galata quarter in Bulgaria's Varna.

The transition from the underwater to the land section of south stream will be made with a horizontal drilling so the pipeline will not be technically visible on the surface even during the construction phase, the company said.

It added that the same location already hosts a gas pipeline transiting natural gasfrom Bulgaria's Black Sea deposits, which has not interfered with local life, business, tourism, or nature in any way.

Under Bulgarian legislation, the distance between the gas pipeline and the closest inhabited building must be at least 120 meters.  MORE