Pros for the construction of a 'Samsun-Ceyhan' pipeline and cons for the 'Burgas-Alexandroupolis' pipeline

Klassa

The construction of Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline will bring a profit of $1.5 bn to Bulgaria and will yield a revenue of $1.8 bn to our country in expenditures which the assignee company should make in Bulgaria for its various constructing activities over the next 20 years. Besides the expected proceeds for the Bulgarian state, at least 1,000 jobs will be opened during the construction works and during the project's operation and maintenance. The owner of the conduit, the Amsterdam-based Trans-Balkan Pipeline (TBP), will have to transfer also overall BGN 1 bn for electricity supplies to the tube over the next 40 years. For the same period, for rentals of towing vessels and monitoring ships and other vessels, which will be part of the safety measures, the company will remit the further amount of over $1 bn. This, in turn, will revive the Bulgarian port fleet, whereas the data on the project benefits exceeds the widely discussed $35 bln charges which Bulgaria will receive from the transit of the crude material. TBP has even estimated that every dollar invested in such an infrastructure project entails a GDP increase of $2.5 - $3 per person on an annual basis for Bulgaria. This would be the total benefits for Bulgaria, if the Burgas-Alexandroupolis project is successfully implemented.

All these are proceeds our country must give up and donate to neighboring Turkey, if the project is not carried out and Russia focuses its efforts on the construction of the alternative Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline. The reasons for hesitation in favour and against the implementation of the oil pipeline stem from the claims of environmentalists that in the event of spillage in the Burgas Bay, the entire nature of the region will be destroyed. 

So far, none of the Bulgarian environmentalists, however, has explained what will happen to the Bay in case of oil leakage at about 50 km north of the Bulgarian border to the Romanian territory where a buoy facility is already operating. It will be part of the projected Constanta-Triesteoil pipeline which is competitive to the Burgas-Alexandroupolis project. Such an oil spill will inevitably extend even to our territorial waters, stated explicitly the experts familiar with the project. Therefore, we should congratulate the Romanians that the tube is about to be built through their territory. We should also say bravo to the Turks who are willing to construct the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline and applaud our environmentalists that suspended a project that could be profitable for our country. 

Klassa's inspection among those acquainted with the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline showed that the project is extremely beneficial for our country. According to experts, it will bring huge economic benefits to Bulgaria. It will also increase the opportunities for job creation and the development of marine navigation in the region of Burgas. For the project itself, specialised security patrol vessels must be used. TBP proposed the crude oil to be unloaded via buoys system without the ships entering the Port of Burgas. The idea is 18 km offshore of Burgas a buoy to be installed in order for the oil tankers to be ''hooked to". Through the buoys oil system, the oil will be delivered to the coastal pumping station near the Port area of 'Rosenetz'. Afterwards, it will be towed to the reservoir park in the area of Lukoil Neftochim and from there it will be transmitted along the tube for Greece. 

The facility will have a variety of electronic safety systems and the statements that it can be dangerous are complete nonsense, explained experts from the marine branch. It is also ridiculous to compare the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline with the accident in the Gulf of Mexico after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig because in Mexico the spill occurred in oil extraction. There, the technology is much more different from the above-mentioned. Besides, the comparison of oil extraction with oil transportation shows the blatant incompetence of the involved authorities whose efforts are directed to suspend the project. 

In general, the Turkish Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline currently being designed with Italian support is considered an alternative to the Bulgarian-Greek conduit. The Russian company Transneft has already proposed the projects for the construction of Burgas-Alexandroupolis and Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline to be implemented under a joint management because both tubes are alternatives to the oil transmission through the Bosporus Strait. Transneft has already held negotiations with Turkey, Italy and Greece for setting up of a consortium which could manage the projects. According to the Executive Director of the Russian operator, Nikolai Tokarev, Turkey has offered incentives for oil supplies to Russian companies involved in the Samsun-Ceyhan project. 

 

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