Bulgarian Foreign Minister Says Russia Not Likely To Replace Bulgaria with Romania in South Stream Pipeline Project

“I do not believe the South Stream project will bypass Bulgaria,” Kalfin said, referring to Monday's reports in Russian daily Kommersant.

According to Kommersant, Russia’s gas major Gazprom has discussed with Romania’s state-owned gas pipeline operator Transgaz and gas producer Romgaz the possibility to switch Bulgaria with its northern neighbour in the megaproject aimed at carrying Russian gas to Europe, due to "serious problems".

Bulgaria’s demands for a stake in the pipeline operator, ownership on the pipeline in the section crossing the country and a say in the distribution of transit fees contradicted Moscow’s plans for Russian ownership over the pipeline, said Kommersant.

"I think that in respect of South Stream Bulgaria is much more advanced than its neighbours, having signed a contract with Russia, which stipulates further steps on the project, and there is no need or motive for any kind of pressure," Kalfin added.

An agreement between Bulgaria and Russia, signed in January, envisages that a 900-kilometre undersea line from Russia would come ashore at Bulgaria’s Black Sea port of Burgas.

The pipeline, initially estimated at $10 billion (7.51 billion euro) will then go south to Italy via Greece and north to Austria via Serbia and Hungary.

The South Stream gas pipeline, to be jointly built by Gazprom and Italy's ENI, may see first deliveries in 2014, Sergei Korovin, deputy chief of Gazprom's international business department, said in June.

The pipeline is projected to carry some 30 billion cubic metres of gas annually to help meet the rising demand in Europe. The route challenges Nabucco, a key Azeri gas supply project of the European Union seen as an alternative to Russian supplies.

Russia meets a quarter of the European Union's energy needs and opponents of South Stream say the pipeline would make the bloc even more dependent on Russian gas supplies.

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