Bulgaria highlights role in Nabucco

SOFIA, Bulgaria, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Agreements with Nabucco suppliers for 141 billion cubic feet of gas annually places Bulgaria as a key partner to the project, the Bulgarian president said.

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov said, following a summit in Budapest on the planned Nabucco gas pipeline, that his country has a major role to play in the project because of the principal gas agreements with Azerbaijan, Egypt and Turkmenistan, Trend Capital news reported Thursday.

"Bulgaria has a role as a transit country in the project," Parvanov said.

The planned Nabucco pipeline would transit 2,051 miles through host nations Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania to bring gas from Caspian and Middle Eastern suppliers to Europe. The project received new focus following the disruptive gas row between Russia and Ukraine.

A dispute over arrears and 2009 contracts disrupted gas supplies to Europe, leaving customers scrambling to find alternative gas routes as 80 percent of the Russian gas bound for Europe travels through Ukraine.

The parties to the project signed a declaration of support at Budapest for conferences in Bulgaria, a potential Nabucco host, later in 2009.