The acting Director of the Bulgarian branch of the Trans-Balkan Pipeline company Plamen Rusev has told Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) his expected replacement will stall and possibly alter substantially the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project.

Novinite.com asked Rusev to comment on the news broken Thursday night by Vladislav Emelyanov, the CEO of the Trans-Balkan Pipeline company which is in charge of constructing and running the future Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline, that the Bulgarian government has nominated another person to replace him.

The Bulgarian Finance Ministry has suggested that Denitsa Beyazova become the Director of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis Pipeline Project Company BG EAD, the Bulgarian partner in the Trans-Balkan Pipeline company, a joint venture with Russia and Greece. The position is currently occupied by Plamen Rusev.

“I was aware of the preparations for my replacement. To be honest, this sounds a little flaky because to appoint a person as the head of such a project, they should have the respective engineering and economic knowledge and experience. I believe that Ms. Beyazova has a total working experience of 6-7 years after she received her law degree,” Rusev said while pointing out that the decision to replace him with Beyazova will first have to be approved by the TBB shareholders.

“The decision for my replacement is completely political. But the Bulgarian Finance Minister, who has become the person responsible for the Bulgarian participation in the Burgas-Alexandroupolis project, has the right to do this,” he explained.

According to the Director of the Bulgarian branch of TBB, the appointment of a new person in his place will lead to a new great delay of the progress of the pipeline, specifically of the submission of all necessary documentation by the project company for the carrying out an environmental assessment.

“I will not do anything without an international environmental assessment of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis project. I won't let them use monobuys in our rough Black Sea so that when these get torn, Bulgaria will suffer. Neither Russia, nor Greece – only Bulgaria will suffer. And there won't be anybody who would sign a positive environmental assessment. But we need to have it because if we say now, “We won't do it!”, we are going to pay huge penalties,” explained Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov on the national TV Friday night.

The internationally sanctioned environmental assessment is the key condition of the Bulgarian government before it decides on whether it wants to kill the project or to go ahead with it. The relevant environmental documentation was supposed to be submitted by September – a hope expressed by the TBB CEO Emelyanov on Thursday – so that the assessment could be ready in February 2011.

However, Plamen Rusev is positive that, while the relevant documents are almost ready, the taking over of the Bulgarian branch of the TBB by the new nominee will delay their submission beyond September.

“What is more, I have concerns of my own that the appointment of the new director is an indication that the nature of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline in Bulgaria will be changed – from the monobuoy oil unloading technology that we have put forth as more environment-friendly – to the unloading of the tankers straight in the Port of Burgas. The reason to appoint a new person is to change the existing plans. It is only natural that I have been committed to this project, and that I am concerned that after the new nominee takes over the project won’t go the right way,” Rusev declared.

He further expressed his regret that the preparation of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis project in Bulgaria had been delayed for more than a year – first, because the project company stopped promoting it publicly because of the political tensions before the 2009 elections, and focused on carrying out all necessary technical surveys; second, because from August 2009 till February 2010, the Regional Development Minister Rosen Plevneliev, who was in charge of the project, disregarded it in anticipation of transferring it to the Finance Ministry; and finally, because the transfer to the Finance Ministry announced in the spring of 2010 took a long time.

“The potential switching of the technology for the realization of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline – from monobuoy unloading to unloading inside the Port of Burgas – will lead to the total collapse of the schedule. What is worse, it is going to be catastrophic about the local people, the local environment and tourism,” Rusev forecast.

Novinite.com’s interview with Rusev in which he argues in favor of the monobuoy technology and discusses in detail the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline READ HERE

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