Transneft offers to finance the Burgas-Alexandroupolis project

Georgi Velev

The Russian company Transneft, which is the majority shareholder in the Burgas-Alexandroupolis project, has offered to take on the entire funding for the construction of the oil pipeline, sources told Klassa. The proposal was made in Moscow during a presentation of the financing for the project’s implementation attended by the shareholders in the project, the Finance Ministry confirmed. The Russian oil operator suggested their investment in the construction of the oil conduit to be paid back by the transit fees it should get for the section of the pipeline on Bulgaria’s territory.

In this way, the Bulgarian State will have no commitments regarding the financing. Transneft’s proposal also included the elimination of the transit fees that the project company Trans-Balkan Pipeline (TBP) should pay to Bulgaria for transiting the oil. These are annual revenues of almost €35 mln. Instead, the Russians offered to pay to Bulgaria annual dividends on the sale of the transited oil.

Bulgaria has a 24.5% stake in the future oil pipeline. Another 23.5% is held by private Greek companies and the Greek State has 1%. The remaining 51% stake is held by the Russian companies Transneft, Rosneft and Gazprom Neft.