Transneft rethinks cooperation with Bulgaria

Russian oil pipeline operator Transneft will soon discuss the expediency of further cooperation with Bulgaria under the trans-Balkan Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project, Transneft President Nikolai Tokarev said on Friday. "I consider this as an insult to our position (on the part of Bulgaria) and partners do not act like this. We can't indefinitely finance this project and will soon discuss the expediency of cooperation with the Bulgarian side," Tokarev said. The 300-kilometer pipeline, planned to link the Black Sea port of Burgas to Alexandroupolis on the Aegean Sea, is designed to transport 35 million tons of oil a year, with a possible expansion to 50 million tons, to ease the tanker traffic burden in the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles straits. Around half of the pipeline was planned to run through Bulgarian territory. But Bulgaria has threatened to abandon the project over environmental risks and has not made its financial contribution to the project. Transneft also does not rule out finding a route bypassing Bulgaria to deliver Russian oil through Greece to the Mediterranean, Tokarev said.