Bulgarian Section of Nabucco Enters EIA Procedure

Nabucco Gas Pipeline Bulgaria EOOD has submitted for approval the documents related to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the 422-km section of the pipeline on Bulgarian territory.

The documents related to the EIA procedure were officially submitted with Bulgaria's Ministry of Environment and Water on October 31, 2012.

Earlier in 2012, Nabucco announced the completion of the EIA approval procedure for the pipeline section on Hungarian territory, where the last of four permits was granted in June.

Reinhard Mitschek, Managing Director of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH, declared that the Nabucco project had reached an advanced stage in Bulgaria, and congratulated the local team on the finalization of the next stage in its development.

"Nabucco strictly adheres to best practices and rules on a national and international scale and is fully committed to working towards the achievement of mutual satisfaction among all interested parties in the countries the pipeline will cross," Mitschek added.

Mariy Kosev, Managing Director of the Nabucco National Company in Bulgaria, voiced hopes that the excellent cooperation with the authorities would continue in the future.

"We shall take into account their response and advice and we shall work with the public and the different interested parties in the EIA approval process. Apart from promoting the diversification of energy supplies and the freedom of choice for Bulgarian consumers, Nabucco will create hundreds of jobs in Bulgaria, it will bring EUR 1 B in investments and taxes, and will create new business opportunities," Kosev pointed out.

The submission of the EIA report marks the beginning of the EIA process in Bulgaria.

Nabucco (represented in Bulgaria by Nabucco Gas Pipeline Bulgaria EOOD) will take into account all feedback from the competent authorities stemming from the official review of the EIA report.

The next step will be to provide public access to the EIA report and to hold consultations on the route, after which the documents will be returned to the authorities for a final approval.

Nabucco is the flagship project in the Southern Corridor aimed at carrying gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East to over 500 million potential customers in Europe.

The Nabucco consortium works in close cooperation with the Shah Deniz II consortium and the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and remains confident that it offers the best solution for connecting new gas supply sources to the large European market.