Sofia could lose big without oil pipeline

SOFIA, Bulgaria, July 28 (UPI) -- The Bulgarian government stands to lose millions if it doesn't throw its support behind an oil pipeline from Greece, a former prime minister said.

Sofia is waiting for an environmental impact assessment on the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline due next year. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov expressed concerns that the environmental risks of the pipeline were too great to move forward, however.

Former Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, whose government approved the project through a 2007 deal with Russia, said Sofia faces stiff penalties if it backs out of the pipeline, the Sofia News Agency reports.

"We must seek the best environmental guarantees for the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline but I really doubt that environmental safety is the real motive of the Borisov Cabinet for stalling the project," he said.

The former prime minister added that crude deliveries in the region were relying on technology from the 1970s.

The 174-mile Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline would bypass crowded waterways near Turkey by crossing an overland route to the Aegean Sea.

In December, Sofia said the terms of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis contract wouldn't deliver an economic benefit to the country.

Borisov said in June that his country was "giving up" on the oil pipeline and suspending plans with Russia to build a nuclear power plant.