Balkans | Greece and Bulgaria are taking action on the pipeline project that will disrupt the strait

Greece and Bulgaria are in talks to revive the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project, which was previously suspended and disrupted in the strait.

And the embargo imposed by the European Union on Russian oil, which came into effect on Monday, led to the return of these two countries together to implement the project without the participation of Russia.

Speaking to Al Jazeera at an energy conference in Athens, Bulgarian Energy Minister Roman Hristov stated that they still have a two-year waiver to buy Russian oil. He said.

Minister Hristov said that they have started negotiations to operate the pipeline and that the pipeline will extend to the ports of Varna and Constanta.

Greek Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas also stated that they “support the project”.

Turkey’s plan to become an “energy hub”

According to the new regulation that came into force on October 7, Turkey increased transit fees through the Bosphorus Strait by 5 times to $4 per ton. Turkey also wants to increase its revenues from tanker traffic passing through the strait from $40 million to $200 million.

Turkey also has the controversial “Canal Istanbul” project as an alternative to the Bosphorus. With the Istanbul Canal project, it is planned that oil tankers will pass through here.

Finally, Russian President Putin said that he can increase gas export capacity to Turkey and thus Turkey can become a gas supply hub to Europe, and the Turkish government has also issued statements that it is warmly looking forward to this.

But according to analysts and sources, Putin’s plan to make Turkey a hub for Russian gas could theoretically allow Moscow to disguise its fuel exports from other sources. For this reason, the European Union is cautious about the “natural gas base” project.

Burgas – Alexandroupolis oil pipeline

The Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline, which aims to transport Russian oil to Europe by bypassing the strait, has been suspended due to Bulgaria’s position on environmental concerns.

It was planned that half of the pipeline would pass through Bulgaria.

It was envisaged that annually 35 million tons of oil would be transported through the pipeline, about 300 km long, which would reach the Aegean Sea through Bulgaria and Athens.

The pipeline has been “put to sleep” due to environmental concerns as well as financial resource problems.

But the embargo imposed by the European Union on Russian oil and natural gas after the Ukraine war directed these countries to alternative countries and forced them to reconsider this frozen project.

euronews