Bulgaria, Azerbaijan hold gas pipeline talks
Bulgaria wants to buy some 1,000 million cubic meters of natural gas from Azerbaijan, President Georgi Purvanov said Monday after a meeting with his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, Bulgaria's BTA reported.
This quantity of gas is Bulgaria's quota under the EU priority Nabucco project, which has to transport gas from the Caspian region to Europe.
These supplies can reach Bulgaria by connecting the Bulgarian gas network with the Turkey-Greece gas pipeline, Purvanov said.
Bulgaria already has a project for a branch to which end a gas pipeline from Haskovo (Khaskovo), Bulgaria, to Komotini, Greece, has to be built.
"As committed to the energy security of Europe Bulgaria is here with the message to boost work on the European Nabucco project," Purvanov said before his Azeri counterpart and underscored that Azerbaijan could have a principal role of supplier of a considerable part of the natural gas for the project.
Purvanov said the experts, competent ministers and energy companies from the two countries discuss the opportunities for active inclusion of Azerbaijan in the implementation of some of the European energy projects, including the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline. He also said Bulgaria is ready to participate in the survey, extraction and transportation of natural gas from Azerbaijan.
This is Purvanov's second visit to Azerbaijan after his official visit in October 2004. His Azeri counterpart Aliyev paid an official visit to Bulgaria in September 2005.
Czechs losing position of oil, gas transit country
The government remains indifferent to the Czech Republic losing its role as a reliable oil and gas transit country as Russia tries to bypass Ukraine, Belarus and Poland, and a network of oil and gas pipelines is being built around the country, Czech national public-service news agency CTK reported.
The Czech Republic now has a relatively privileged position as some 40 percent of gas heading for Germany flows across its territory.
If gas pipelines led through other countries, Czech influence on the European economy would decrease. This can happen in 10 or 20 years since Russia wants to restrict the transit dependence on the three above countries that it considers unreliable.
Russia plans to hit the Czech Republic because the Belarusian and Ukrainian branches now lead via Slovakia to Czech territory and further on to the West.
The gas pipelines routes will be markedly changed after Nord Stream will lead along the Baltic Sea bed to Germany.
The Czech Republic now covers three-quarters of its annual gas consumption with Russian supplies because it has no other possibilities for various reasons.
Germany, Russia agree to strategic cooperation
Russian President-elect Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed their commitment to comprehensive strategic cooperation, giving special attention to energy relations, according to Itar-Tass.
Medvedev and Merkel discussed in detail the state of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, paying special attention to the energy sector, including further steps to implement the Nord Stream gas pipeline project.
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Closing oil prices, Mar. 11, 3 p.m. London
Brent crude oil: $104.84
West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $108.31
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