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 Tuesday the environment and social
impact assessment (ESIA) for the Bulgarian sector of the gas pipeline shows that
the project will have no significant impact.
The Gazprom-spearheaded
South Stream pipeline will supply natural gas from Russia to central and
southeastern Europe. Its offshore part will run from Russia's Black Sea shore
across the Turkish exclusive economic zone to the Bulgarian cost near Varna and
will consist of four pipeline strings with annual capacity expected to reach 63
billion cubic metres. Commercial operation is scheduled to start by the end of
2015. The project's future, however, is uncertain as the European Commission has
said it runs counter to EU law.
“The ESIA Report confirms earlier
findings that construction and operation of the underwater pipeline is not
expected to have a significant impact on the Black Sea environment or on the
Bulgarian coast where the pipeline comes ashore,” South Stream Transport said in
a statement.
The assessment shows that the project will bring some
temporary local economic benefits as a result of additional employment
opportunities and increased demand for goods and services during construction,
it added.
Last month, Bulgaria's government said it halts the
construction of the project on its territory until it is aligned to EU law. The
Bulgarian authorities had earlier received a letter of formal notice from the
European Commission, asking the country to suspend the project's implementation
as it runs counter to EU legislation.
In the beginning of the year, the
Bulgarian environment ministry approved the environmental impact assessment
(EIA) report on the country's offshore section of the South Stream gas
pipeline.
The Bulgarian section of the project will be approximately 236
kilometres long. It runs from the border between the Turkish and the Bulgarian
exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, to the landfall in Bulgaria. From
there, natural gas will be transported through the country by South Stream
Bulgaria AD and further by other joint ventures into Southeast and Central
Europe.