Russian Officials Reassure Bulgarians About Oil Pipeline Safety

Text of report in English by Bulgarian national news agency BTA

Port of Primorsk, 11 February: It has not been decided yet what technology will be used for the construction of the Burgas- Alexandroupolis oil pipeline. This transpired at a news conference in the port of Primorsk (Russia) [on] Monday [11 February] held during a visit of a Bulgarian delegation here. The delegation included representatives of the municipalities via which the pipeline would run.

Mityo Videlov, adviser to the minister of regional development and public works, said that the international company, in charge of the pipeline construction, should pick up a company, which is supposed to conduct feasibility studies and choose the technologies for the construction activities within six to eight months. The budget of the project is to be set in the following weeks. The choice of a technology depends mostly on the Russian company Transneft, said Videlov.

There are two versions for the construction of the oil terminal at Burgas. The first possibility involves the construction of a floating buoy system, which implies that the oil platform will be in the open sea. According to studies conducted in 2005, this is the cheaper and safer version. Under the other possibility the Rosenets Port Facility will be reconstructed into a terminal and used for the purposes of the project.

Dmitriy Yevstratov from Transneft’s management said the oil pipeline would be built using a technology which meets the toughest environmental requirements. Asked if Transneft would heed the outcome of an upcoming referendum about the construction of the oil terminal in Burgas, Yevstratov said the agreement on the oil pipeline stipulates that each party must further the project’s implementation and solve its internal problems.

Representatives of the local authorities of the Leningrad Region said that the oil port in Primorsk had no negative impact on tourism and that thousands of people found jobs during its construction.

Vladislav Didenko, director general of the Primorsk Oil Port, a Transneft subsidiary, said the company’s top priority during the construction stage was to ensure environmental safety. The terminal’s reservoir park was built using a technology meeting the most rigorous international requirements for environmental safety. There has been no oil spill in the Primorsk Bay thanks to the tough measures taken, Didenko said.

He added that 281m tonnes of oil had been handled at Primorsk since 2001. Last year alone, over 74m tonnes of oil was loaded on 2,800 tankers.

The Bulgarian delegation went round the site, giving special attention to the eco-analysis laboratory.

Originally published by BTA news agency, Sofia, in English 2204 11 Feb 08.

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