"Gazprom" will end up with a production field in Bulgaria.
"Gazprom" will end up with production field in Bulgaria to save the South Stream project.
"Gazprom" doesn’t abandon its attempts to continue the implementation of the South Stream gas pipeline project, which the European Union is actively trying to stop. The monopoly is discussing the change of the status of the South Stream offshore section onto a "production field" allowing it to transfer the gas from the Black Sea shelf with Bulgaria. This will allow Sofia to talk about fulfilling the requirements of the Third Energy Package and will finish the marine section of the pipeline, negating the claim of Brussels.
Moscow and Sofia discuss the change in the status of the South Stream pipeline offshore section within the waters of Bulgaria and its recharacterization into a production field, ITAR-TASS reported. According to "the Kommersant" sources, the issue is that OMV – the partner of "Gazprom" on the Austrian section of the pipeline – will supply gas via the South Stream Sea area from the fields in the Black Sea shelf. This will allow to fulfill the EU requirement for the access of third parties to the gas pipeline and to bring the pipleline to the land. OMV with ExxonMobil scouts the Neptune field in offshore Romania, and with Total and Repsol – Khan Asparuh. In mid-August Ekaterina Zaharieva, the Minister of Regional Development of Bulgaria, stated the fact that the Khan Asparuh gas will go via the South Stream pipeline. "Gazprom" and OMV do not comment on the situation. The RF Ministry of Energy told "Kommersant" that there are no such negotiations.
