It seems unlikely that Bulgaria will benefit from the Bourgas-Vlore pipeline in the near future, as fighting in neighbouring Macedonia has ruled out the possibility of the project's completion within a short-term period.
The recent development of the situation in Macedonia has even caused skepticism among backers of the proposed pan-Balkan oil pipeline, for whom the project is an important and historic opportunity. It is a chance to bring major foreign investment to one of Europe's most economically stagnant regions.
The problem is that the pipeline has to pass through the heart of Macedonia. Macedonia was once regarded as the stable centerpiece of plans for modern communication networks, and transportation and energy corridors stretching from Bulgaria's Black Sea coast to Albanian ports on the Adriatic. It has now become the weakest link. Few investors seem willing to take risks until a solid truce is reached between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians seeking greater minority rights.
"My phone hasn't rung for months with anyone interested in a project in Macedonia," said Ned Cabot, the regional director for the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.
Until recently, it was quite a different situation. In 1995, as war raged in other parts of former Yugoslavia, the United States and other nations promoted Corridor 8, which passed through Macedonia. Its backers envisioned transport links that would speed goods and fuel from the Black Sea region and Central Asia to Albania, close to Italy and the rest of Western Europe.
A few stretches of the Corridor 8 road and rail route have been completed, but it still takes at least 30 hours by truck to make the 450-mile drive from the Black Sea to the Adriatic. Rail connections are hopelessly indirect and plans for fiber optics and pipelines are gathering dust. "Everything is basically on hold now," said Cabot.
Some people are already looking beyond the turmoil. Gligor Tashkovich, executive vice-president of AMBO Ltd., which is hoping to build the trans-Balkan oil pipeline, said he has met with "both sides" in Macedonia and is confident of the prospects for the $1.1 billion project.
AMBO's president, Ted Ferguson, was formerly an executive for a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., which was directed by U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney until last year. This means that the U.S. may become involved with the project.
"Oil companies work in far more unstable areas of the world than Macedonia," said Tashkovich in an Associated Press interview. "You think of Angola. You think of Indonesia. You think of Chechnya. What's going on in Macedonia is nothing compared with what these places have experienced."
A week ago Ferguson visited Bulgaria and met government officials to discuss the pipeline project. Though he said that the oil companies operating in the Caspian region would be interested in the Bourgas-Vlore pipeline, he also admitted he is concerned over the situation in Macedonia that is driving investors away.
As a participant, Bulgaria will not have to invest any money in the project, which will be entirely funded from external sources. Bulgarian companies will only take part in the construction.
The benefits will come later when the pipeline is finished and Bulgaria starts collecting fees for the transit of the "black gold" through its territory.
The recent development of the situation in Macedonia has even caused skepticism among backers of the proposed pan-Balkan oil pipeline, for whom the project is an important and historic opportunity. It is a chance to bring major foreign investment to one of Europe's most economically stagnant regions.
The problem is that the pipeline has to pass through the heart of Macedonia. Macedonia was once regarded as the stable centerpiece of plans for modern communication networks, and transportation and energy corridors stretching from Bulgaria's Black Sea coast to Albanian ports on the Adriatic. It has now become the weakest link. Few investors seem willing to take risks until a solid truce is reached between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians seeking greater minority rights.
"My phone hasn't rung for months with anyone interested in a project in Macedonia," said Ned Cabot, the regional director for the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.
Until recently, it was quite a different situation. In 1995, as war raged in other parts of former Yugoslavia, the United States and other nations promoted Corridor 8, which passed through Macedonia. Its backers envisioned transport links that would speed goods and fuel from the Black Sea region and Central Asia to Albania, close to Italy and the rest of Western Europe.
A few stretches of the Corridor 8 road and rail route have been completed, but it still takes at least 30 hours by truck to make the 450-mile drive from the Black Sea to the Adriatic. Rail connections are hopelessly indirect and plans for fiber optics and pipelines are gathering dust. "Everything is basically on hold now," said Cabot.
Some people are already looking beyond the turmoil. Gligor Tashkovich, executive vice-president of AMBO Ltd., which is hoping to build the trans-Balkan oil pipeline, said he has met with "both sides" in Macedonia and is confident of the prospects for the $1.1 billion project.
AMBO's president, Ted Ferguson, was formerly an executive for a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., which was directed by U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney until last year. This means that the U.S. may become involved with the project.
"Oil companies work in far more unstable areas of the world than Macedonia," said Tashkovich in an Associated Press interview. "You think of Angola. You think of Indonesia. You think of Chechnya. What's going on in Macedonia is nothing compared with what these places have experienced."
A week ago Ferguson visited Bulgaria and met government officials to discuss the pipeline project. Though he said that the oil companies operating in the Caspian region would be interested in the Bourgas-Vlore pipeline, he also admitted he is concerned over the situation in Macedonia that is driving investors away.
As a participant, Bulgaria will not have to invest any money in the project, which will be entirely funded from external sources. Bulgarian companies will only take part in the construction.
The benefits will come later when the pipeline is finished and Bulgaria starts collecting fees for the transit of the "black gold" through its territory.
