Gasprom expects permission for construction of the South Stream gas pipeline section from the new Bulgarian government till the end of October, Alexander Syromyatin, deputy chief of the Gasprom Department of Project Management, said at the telephone conference.
He added that the current Cabinet of Ministers cannot make this decision. “The preparation works are currently in progress. We have almost finished purchasing of the land plots and getting ready to a wide-scale construction,” he added.
South Stream project has not been frozen. The talks on the ways to bring the South Stream out of the Third Energy Package’s effect have been frozen at the European Commission’s initiative. The works on the offshore section continue. About 30% of pipes have been already delivered to Burgas port. Castoto 6 pipe layer is also in the ort and Saipem 700 vessel must be there in the near future. The pipe laying will begin till the end of this year,” Syromyatin said.
In early June 2014 European Union demanded that Bulgaria should suspend South Stream construction, which does not correspond to the EU Third Energy Package. Brussels has also suspected Bulgaria of violation of the European legislation during the tender for the gas pipeline construction. EU believes that the Russian and Bulgarian companies have gotten the privileges.
On August 18, 2014 Bulgaria announced suspension of works on the South Stream gas pipeline. Bulgarian Minister of Economy and Energy Vasil Shtonov has instructed the Bulgarian energy holding to suspend all operations as a part of the South Stream project.
After that Gasprom’s official representative Sergei Kupriyanov said that the European Commission has political motives to oppose to the South Stream gas pipeline construction.
On July 23, 2014 Bulgarian Premier Plamen Oresharski has resigned from his position, because the ruling Socialist party did not have good results at the elections to the European parliament. The party chairman Sergei Stanishev said earlier that the elections will be held ahead of schedule on October 5.
