The construction of the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline on Bulgarian territory would not start within the next 18 months, until Bulgaria's Environment Ministry is ready with the environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the project.

If the EIA comes out negative, then the project would be unfavourable to Bulgaria and contain great environmental risks, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov was quoted as saying by Bulgarian media on December 8 2009. Borissov was addressing a round table organised by the Economist magazine in Sofia.

The Ministry's EIA is expected to be ready within 18 months which means that the pipeline construction will not see a green light by then, Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily quoted Borissov as saying.

Borissov said that the previous Bulgarian government had missed the chance to negotiate better terms for Bulgaria in the project which is supposed to transfer Russian oil from the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Bourgas to the Greek port on the Aegean Alexandroupolis.

The idea for the project has been around since 1993 but the deal on it was signed in 2007. On behalf of Bulgaria, the contract was signed by the Socialist-led cabinet at the time, giving Russia the majority 51 per cent stake, with Bulgaria and Greece splitting the rest.

The Bulgarian Parliament has already ratified the deal, but public opinion in Bourgas remains strongly against the project, fearing that it would hurt tourism in the area.

On December 6 2009, while in Bourgas, Borissov said the contract was not favourable for Bulgaria and was against national interests.

The contract had no clauses that would allow the country to withdraw from it, he said.

Borissov said that talks on amending the agreement began during the visit of President Georgi Purvanov and Economy Minister Traicho Traikov to Greece. However, such a change cannot be implemented without Russia's agreement.

Bulgaria was pursuing its dialogue with Russia and Greece, but the contract was drafted in a way that was contrary to Bulgarian interests, Borissov said. The pipeline was a problem for the environmental situation in Bourgas and the region, he said.