Gazprom Plays Romania Card with Bulgaria
In an article entitled "Gazprom Threatens Bulgaria Again," the Russian business newspaper RBK Daily writes that Russian energy giant Gazprom has practically renewed its threat to replace Bulgaria with Romania as the primary transit hub of the South Stream gas pipeline.
On Wednesday, Gazprom signed a memorandum of mutual understanding with Romania’s Transgas SA to establish a joint group of experts who will conduct a technical and economic assessment of the pipeline construction in Romania.
If the results of the assessment are positive, the two parties will suggest signing a Russian-Romanian intergovernmental agreement on cooperation on the South Stream project in the first quarter of 2011.
RBK Daily views this as clear evidence that Gazprom is eying Romania as an alternative to Bulgaria.
A recent meeting between the respective prime ministers of Italy and Russia – Silvio Berlusconi and Vladimir Putin, brought mention of a country being problematic for the realization of South Stream.
Experts are convinced that Bulgaria is that country and is the major factor stalling the pipeline as it is tries to wrest additional benefits for itself from South Stream shareholders.
The paper says that Moscow had to make certain concessions in order to get the go-ahead for South Stream from Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov in July 2010, including the reduction of the natural gas prices for Bulgarian consumers and altering the fees it pays Bulgaria for its gas transit to Turkey and Greece.
The Bulgarians are thought to want new concessions from Moscow, such as favorable credits, and participation in the construction of Bulgarian subcontractors.
Sofia has not been in a hurry to set up a joint project company with Russia for the construction of South Stream on its territory, the Russian paper says.
It cites Dmitry Abzalov, an expert of the Russian Center for Study of Political Situation, as saying that the renewed talks with Romania are a new attempt on Russia's part to overwhelm Bulgaria's unwillingness to speed up South Stream.
"For Gazprom changing the transit country is also not the best option. First of all, the talks will have to start anew, and second, striking a deal with Romania will also be hard. There are political disagreements between Russia and Romania over Moldova. What is more, the Romanians will also try to wrest concessions from Moscow," Abzalov says.
"If the new threat does no work, it will also not be easy for Russia to strike a deal with Bucharest," points out the article.
Transgaz which is the technical operator of the national natural gas transmission system in Romania, is also a partner in the Nabucco gas pipeline, the competing project to South Stream and is also participating in the proposed AGRI Interconnector.
Russia has said that Romania will only be supplied with gas through South Stream, and most likely will not be a transit country.
However, the comments by RBK Daily and other Russian media continue to fuel suspicions that Moscow might swap Bulgaria for Romania.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller is expected to visit Bulgaria's capital Sofia on Friday.
Source: Novite