Page 12 - EurOil Week 08 2023

EurOil MARKET EurOil

Greece, Bulgaria revive crude pipeline

known as ‘Bosphorus Bypass’

EU GREECE and Bulgaria have agreed to revive Kazakh and Azeri crude imported from other
the previously abandoned Burgas-Alexandria Black Sea export terminals.
The project was first crude oil pipeline, which was proposed in the The original project called a 280 km pipeline
proposed in the 1980s. mid-1990s as a means to export Russian and between the two port cities with a capacity to
other Central Asian crude oil to world markets. transport up to 50,000 tons annually. The project
The pipeline was intended to bypass Turkey’s included a storage tank facility at Alexandrouplis
Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, which at with a capacity of 650,000 tons.
the time were becoming increasingly busy, Complications for the project would con-
prompting environment safety and security tinue due to the fact that Russia oil company
concerns. Lukoil owns Neftechim, meaning that owner-
Greek and Bulgarian officials met in Athens ship would have to change for future products
last week to sign two memoranda of understand- to be distributed throughout the region. Distri-
ing: one covering the revival of Burgas-Alex- bution of products from the refinery are now
droupolis, the other concerning the shared use restricted. Concern has also been expressed
of the Interconnecteor-Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) that if built, and if circumstances should ever
pipeline, which came into operation late last year return to a state when Russian oil exports are not
and which is part of the Southern Gas Corridor banned, Moscow would want to use the pipeline
(SGC). The SGC currently serves to transport to export crude.
Azeri natural gas to Turkey and Europe. “The Alexandroupolis-Burgas oil pipeline
Russia was a major supporter of Burgas-Al- is of strategic importance to Bulgaria because it
exandroupolis as it viewed global and Western provides an opportunity for real diversification
demand for its crude oil rising in the years ahead. and alternative supplies of non-Russian oil to
However, the project was abandoned in 2010 the refinery in Burgas – the largest in the Bal-
when Bulgarian and other environmentalist kans,” Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said in
mounted a political challenge to the project that Athens.
forced the Bulgarian government to pull out of Last week, Bulgaria’s Commission for Pro-
the project. Media reports say another challenge tection of Competition fined Lukoil Neftechim
to this new effort to may be organized. Some $36.83 million for unfair business practices in
reports state that the US government was behind Bulgaria by implementing “a comprehensive
the project being dropped. strategy to limit competition in the wholesale
The project that Greece and Bulgaria are now trade of fuels in the country” between March
considering is one that sees crude oil flow in the 2021 and June 2022.
opposite direction – from Alexandroupolis on The MOU regarding the IGB pipeline and
the Aegean Sea to the Lukoil Neftochim refinery connected facilities guarantees Bulgarian access
in Burgas. The plan is designed to provide Bul- to Greece’s LNG import terminals – one at
garia with the ability to acquire crude oil from Revithoussa near Athens and another under
sources other than Russia. Bulgaria is currently construction at Alexandroupolis. The Inde-
exempt from the European ban on Russian pendent Natural Gas System (INGS) is a float-
crude imports that stem from Moscow’s inva- ing storage and regasification unit (FSRU) being
sion of Ukraine. That exemption is due to expire installed at Alexandroupolis and is scheduled to
in 2024. come into operation this year. It will be hooked
The US-based Jamestown Foundation up to the IGB and the Southern Gas Corridor,
reported earlier this month that since the start through which Bulgaria and Greece receive gas
of the Ukraine war, Bulgaria has become the from Azerbaijan.
third largest importer of Russia oil after India Bulgaria holds 20% of INGS and has booked
and China. The Lukoil refinery, the largest storage capacity at the port for 1 BCM/year.
in Bulgaria is reported to be receiving Russia Under the agreement, Greece also gains access
crude from the export terminal at Novorossysk. to Bulgaria’s gas storage facilities at Chiren.
According to reports, despite being an EU mem- Both the A-B crude pipeline and the IGB
ber, Sofia has made little effort to reduce imports are seen as potentially having a wide impact for
of Russian crude although it could switch to Southeast European energy security. ™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 08 23•February•2023