Turkish Forum

Tag: Traicho Traikov

  • Bulgaria Gives Up on Trying to Make Gas Pipe to Turkey Part of Nabucco

    Bulgaria Gives Up on Trying to Make Gas Pipe to Turkey Part of Nabucco

    The Bulgarian government is no longer trying to make the future gas interconnection between Bulgaria and Turkey a section of the EU-sponsored gas transit pipeline Nabucco, Economy Minister Traikov announced.

    photo verybig 129614

    The gas pipeline connecting the natural gas networks of Bulgaria and Turkey could be ready by 2014, and through which Bulgaria could be receiving up to 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, Bulgaria’s Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism Traicho Traikov told the Members of Parliament on Friday.

    Back in 2010, Traikov was convinced that the future Bulgaria-Turkey gas interconnection would become “the first operational section” of the Nabucco pipeline. The idea was endorsed in the fall of 2010 by the Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and Turkey Boyko Borisov and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the rationale being that the two countries could thus be entitled to use EU funds for the missing gas network link.

    On Friday, however, Traikov admitted that the Bulgarian Economy Ministry is no longer pursuing this project – which means that the Bulgaria-Turkey gas interconnection will not coincide with Nabucco’s pipe – because this would make the launching of the Bulgaria-Turkey pipe “expensive and slow.”

    Bulgaria’s decision to give up on merging of Nabucco and the Bulgaria-Turkey pipeline comes after in May 2011, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH pushed back the start of construction of its EUR 7.9 B pipeline to carry Caspian natural gas to Europe to 2013; thus, Nabucco is now expected to start operations in 2017 instead of 2015, as previously expected.

    Traikov’s announcement about the gas interconnection with Turkey comes a day after his meeting with his counterpart from Azerbaijan Natiq Aliyev, who confirmed that Azerbaijan can start shipping to Bulgaria about 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year as soon as the gas links between Bulgaria and Turkey, and Bulgaria and Greece are completed.

    On Thursday, Bulgaria’s state-owned gas company Bulgargaz replaced the CEO of its subsidiary Bulgartransgaz, one of the major arguments for the change being the need to speed up the construction of the Bulgaria-Turkey gas pipe.

    The working group of the Bulgarian government has concluded that the best option for the Bulgaria-Turkey gas interconnection would be if it is built by Bulgartransgaz and Turkey’s state company Botas.

    via Bulgaria: Bulgaria Gives Up on Trying to Make Gas Pipe to Turkey Part of Nabucco – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency.

  • Bulgaria: Bulgaria Plans to Start Exporting Electricity to Turkey in July

    Bulgaria: Bulgaria Plans to Start Exporting Electricity to Turkey in July

    Bulgaria and Turkey have agreed to speed up the construction of a gas grid interconnection between the two countries, Bulgarian Energy Minister Traicho Traikov said Thursday after a meeting with Turkish counterpart Taner Yildiz.

    bulgaria taner yildiz

    The two ministers met in Kayseri, Turkey, where they took part in the signing of the Project Support Agreements (PSAs) between NABUCCO Gas Pipeline International GmbH and the responsible ministries of the five transit countries.

    “The PSAs give better guarantees for the sustainability of key factors for Nabucco like the legal framework, the procedures, etc., they make it more bankable and pave the way for securing the funding. The implementation schedule for the gas pipeline makes us reiterate the importance of a speedy construction of a gas grid interconnection that will allow us to achieve true diversification and access other sources of gas supplies “, Minister Traikov stated.

    The Bulgarian expert working group on the project recommends building the gas link in the most economically profitable way, without commitments to the specifications of the Nabucco gas pipeline. As a result, the gas interconnection will not be a rival to Nabucco because of its totally different scale and terms for implementation.

    In July, Bulgaria’s state power utility NEK starts executing the contracts for electricity exports to Turkey, Traikov pointed out, adding that this happens for the first time after a 9-year break. According to Bulgaria’s Energy Minister, the system is currently operating in test mode.

    Another topic on the agenda of the meeting were the nuclear programs of both countries, including the projects for new nuclear power plants.

    Minister Traikov briefed his Turkish counterpart on the ongoing debates in the EU on the development of the sector and Bulgaria’s call for the introduction of stringent and objective common standards about nuclear safety to be applied by EU member states and neighbor countries.

    He also made it clear that safety standards for new nuclear capacities were to be adopted at the forthcoming Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety on 20-24 June in Vienna, Austria.

    via Bulgaria: Bulgaria Plans to Start Exporting Electricity to Turkey in July – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency.