Bulgaria is not trying to push through the project for the oil pipeline between Bourgas and Alexandroupolis at the expense of other options, said Bulgarian Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Kostadin Paskalev, at a meeting with his Greek counterpart Nikos Khristodhoulakis in Sofia two weeks ago.

However, details of the meeting based on a transcript from the talks were published last Thursday by the Ministry, in response to an article in the Albanian newspaper Gazeta Shqiptare, from the same day, which reported that Bulgaria and Greece were blocking a program on which Albania relies heavily for its economic development. "Athens and Sofia are trying to discard the Bourgas-Vlore pipeline project and have taken a decision to move Caspian oil via other routes," the Albanian paper wrote.

The article said that none of the 40 million tons of oil that will come from the Caspian region every year would reach the Albanian port city of Vlore, but would all go to Alexandroupolis. It added that a decision to that effect was allegedly taken during the visit to Sofia of the Greek development minister. In return, according to the story, the Greek government official promised Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg access to two Greek ports for Bulgarian goods.

The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works said that during his visit, the Greek development minister said that the implementation of the project will play an important role given the increased production of Caspian oil and the impossibility of using the Bosphorus (a small strait connecting the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea) for its transportation. Paskalev said in reply that a decision of the Bulgarian government is necessary before ruling out the Vlore project.

The Greek side suggested that Bulgaria, Russia and Greece hold a meeting in October to discuss the transit charges and safety guarantees, which are factors determining the efficiency of the project. Khristodhoulakis reportedly said that recent international events have increased the significance of oil, especially oil produced in non-Arab countries, and voiced the opinion that the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis project might be faster to implement than the alternatives.

The construction of the 300km pipeline will cost $600 million and most of it will be on Bulgarian territory. Hellenica Petrelia and two holding structures, Latzis and Kopelouzos, would be involved on the Greek side.

However, some problems still persist. Bulgaria and Greece cannot reach an agreement concerning the share of each country in the future joint venture for the construction of the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline. In addition, Bulgarian-Russian relations have been rather slow moving for the last four years.