Dutch-based South Stream Transport BV, a joint venture established for the
planning, construction and operation of the offshore section of the South Stream
gas pipeline through the Black Sea, said on Wednesday there are no plans to
change the routе of the offshore pipeline.
Earlier this week, media
reported three of the four offshore South Stream pipes might be reallocated to
connect to Crimea instead of Bulgaria.
“The route of the South Stream
Offshore Pipeline, connecting the shores of Anapa (Russia) to the shores of
Varna (Bulgaria) and running through Turkey’s EEZ, was chosen after several
years of detailed geological and geophysical surveys,” South Stream Transport
said in a statement emailed to SeeNews the Corporate Wire.
Numerous
surveys both onshore and deep underwater, as well as environmental impact
assessments (EIAs) in Bulgaria, Turkey and Russia have been performed in
relation to the pipeline project.
A re-routing of the entire pipeline is
not done overnight, but would be an entirely new endeavor, the notice
read.
Partners have already been awarded with the supply of some of the
pipes for the South Stream project.
In March South Stream Transport said
it signed contracts worth approximately 2.0 billion euro ($2.7 billion) with
Italian company Saipem for construction works on the offshore section of the
South Stream gas pipeline.
South Stream Transport B.V. is controlled by
Gazprom, which holds a 50% stake, Italian group Eni with a 20% stake as well as
French energy group EDF and German company Wintershall with 15% each.