Mariy Kosev, former Deputy Minister of
Economy, Energy and Tourism, has been appointed Managing Director of
Nabucco
Bulgaria,
Nabucco
Gas Pipeline International GmbH
said in a statement.
Kosev will succeed
Kiril Temelkov, who was appointed CEO of
state-owned
Bulgartransgaz in June.
In July, Temelkov was appointed temporary head of Bulgaria's
"National Nabucco Company" until a suitable person was found to fill the
position.
"The appointment of Mr. Kosev gives a strong boost to the project,"
said Reinhard Mitschek, Managing Director of Nabucco Pipeline
International GmBH.
The press release went on to say that the Nabucco
gas pipeline
had registered substantial progress in Bulgaria and that the
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) process was underway.
The project company specified that a number of meetings had already
been held with municipal and local administrations, as well as a series
of consultations with representatives of non-governmental organizations.
The Nabucco shareholders are: Bulgarian Energy Holding (Bulgaria),
Botas (Turkey), MOL (Hungary), OMV (Austria), RWE (Germany) and Transgaz
(Romania).
Each shareholder holds an equal share of 16.67% of
Nabucco
Gas
Pipeline International GmbH.
The EU-backed
gas pipeline is estimated to cost EUR 8 B, and
Bulgaria, as a partner controlling 1/6 of the shares, will be expected
to provide 1/6 of the total sum, or about EUR 1.3 B, rather than finance
just the section on its territory.
Bulgaria plans to finance its share in Nabucco with a EUR 1.2 B loan
from the European Investment Bank.