- Title: Bulgaria signs up Saudi-led group for TurkStream gas pipeline extension
- Date: 18th September 2019
- Summary: LOZENETZ, BULGARIA, (FILE - AUGUST 3, 2018) (REUTERS) SIGN ON FENCE READING (Bulgarian) "BULARTRANSGAZ" VARIOUS OF PIPELINE
- Embargoed: 2nd October 2019 18:02
- Keywords: Turkstream gas pipeline Bulgaria Saudi Arabia gas pipeline Russian gas Boyko Borissov Arkad
- Location: SOFIA AND LOZENETZ, BULGARIA
- City: SOFIA AND LOZENETZ, BULGARIA
- Country: Bulgaria
- Topics: Commodities Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA002AX6RNZT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Bulgaria's state gas company signed a 1.1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) contract on Wednesday (September 18) with Saudi-led group Arkad to build a gas pipeline to carry mainly Russian natural gas.
The Balkan country is rushing to build the 474-km pipeline linking its southern border with Turkey to its western border with Serbia to secure a link to the Russian-backed TurkStream pipeline to Serbia, Hungary and Austria.
Russia, which is building the TurkStream to bypass Ukraine to the south, said in July that its second leg, with an annual capacity of 15.75 billion cubic metres will pass via Bulgaria to central Europe.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov introduced the pipeline as the so-called Balkan Stream at the signing of the contract by state gas group Bulgartransgaz.
He also said that 90% of the pipes for the project had already been delivered to Bulgarian ports and Sofia wants to have the first 308 km of the pipeline ready by January, a timetable which many industry observers say will be extremely hard to achieve.
The Arkad-led group contract comes a day before representatives of the European Union, Russia and Ukraine meet to discuss the future of Russian gas transit to Europe via Ukraine when a 10-year deal expires in January.
(Production: Louisa Naks) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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