Austria's Habau to complete Bulgaria-Romania gas pipeline
06/04/2016 13:37
SOFIA, April 6 (Reuters) - The state gas network operators
of Bulgaria and Romania have signed a contract with Austrian
construction firm Habau to complete a delayed interconnector
linking the two Balkan countries which is aimed at reducing
Bulgaria's dependence on Russian gas imports.
Sofia, which gets more than 90 percent of its gas from
Russia's Gazprom GAZP.MM , has looked for alternative supply
after Moscow cancelled its South Stream pipeline project in
2014.
South Stream would have carried Russian gas across the Black
Sea to Bulgaria.
Bulgaria planned to have the 25-km pipeline to Romania
operational in 2013, but it has been delayed due to technical
problems experienced by the previous builder in laying pipes
under the Danube River. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL6N0WM2IV
Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said Habau will
now have four months to build two km of the subsea pipeline and
is to have the pipeline operational later this year.
"This contract will give Bulgaria the first interconnector
link in its history," Petkova told reporters after the signing.
The pipeline will have a maximum capacity of 1.5 billion
cubic metres of gas per year from Bulgaria, which hopes to
become a gas distribution hub for Europe to Romania.
The capacity from Romania to Bulgaria will be 500 million
cubic metres per year.
Bulgaria also has launched construction of a gas pipeline to
Greece which will carry Azeri gas to Romania and Hungary.
Petkova said indicative offers to reserve capacity on that
pipeline have exceeded its initial capacity.
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(Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; editing by Jason Neely)
((tsvetelia.tsolova@thomsonreuters.com; +359-2-93-99-731;))
Keywords: BULGARIA GAS/ROMANIA