Bulgaria is sticking to its case that the South Stream natural gas pipeline should use a new transmission network instead of the existing infrastructure, Deputy Economy Minister Yavor Kouyumdjiev told the Bulgarian National Radio.

The project will be reviewed during the visit of Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev to Moscow on April 26-28, when he will meet Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and prime minister Vladimir Putin. The visit is expected to see parties seal the gas route agreement, according to Kouyumdjiev.

Bulgarian Economy Minister Petar Dimitrov said in February that using the existing gas transmission grid to pump gas from Russia to Europe would affect Russian gas transits to Greece, Turkey and Macedonia and rule out options for alternative supplies. Furthermore, he argued, this would require expansion of the capacity of the existing network.

Once the framework agreement has been signed, the Bulgarian Energy Holding, which groups the country’s main state-owned energy assets, and its subsidiary, gas major Bulgargaz will set up a project company, giving the Russian side 50 per cent ownership of the pipelines.

The South Stream route and the volume of gas to be carried to Bulgaria and Serbia were supposed to be agreed during Bulgarian president Georgi Parvanov’s visit to Moscow in February.

Bulgaria is also pressing for signing a multilateral intergovernmental agreement to guarantee that the South Stream project will be implemented, Kouyumdjiev told Dnevnik. So far, Russia has signed agreements with Bulgaria, Serbia and Ukraine. The intergovernmental agreement on the project was inked in 2008.

Source: Dnevnik