The construction of the Bulgarian section of Nabucco gas pipeline begins
on January 10, prime minister Boyko Borisov said.
Two months before that, on November 9, Bulgaria will sign an agreement
with Russia on the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline and the two
projects will be implemented almost simultaneously, Borisov told the Bulgarian
National Television (BNT) in an interview on Friday
evening.
Austria's OMV, the Bulgarian Energy Holding, Turkey's Botas, Romania's
Transgaz, Hungary's MOL and Germany's RWE are partners in the Vienna-based
Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, the project company of the 3,300-kilometre
pipeline designed to connect the Caspian region and the Middle East with the
Turkish and European gas markets that will ensure diversification of routes and
sources and contribute to the security of gas supplies. The first gas deliveries
are expected by 2017.
The South Stream pipeline, a joint project of Russia's Gazprom and
Italy's Eni, is expected to carry 63 billion cubic metres of Russian natural gas
per year under the Black Sea to the Bulgarian coast and further west into
Europe. Slovenia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and Greece are partners in
the onshore section of the pipeline.