The construction and operation of the Burgas-Alexandroupoli oil pipeline is a project of major significance for Russia, Bulgaria and Greece, the greater region, as well as the international oil community, and at the same time contributes to international energy security.

The signing of the agreement in Athens on 15 March 2007 by Development Minister Mr. Dimitris Sioufas, Russian Minister of Industry and Energy Mr. Viktor Khristenko and Bulgarian Minister for Regional Development Mr. Asen Gagauzov opens the way for the implementation of the project. The importance of the project to all sides is demonstrated by the presence at the signing ceremony in the Greek capital of the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin, and the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Mr. Sergei Stanishev, and their meetings with Prime Minister Mr. Kostas Karamanlis.

The construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupoli oil pipeline will ensure an additional route, complementary to the Bosporus, for the transportation of energy resources, via Greece and Bulgaria, from the centres of production to the major markets in the Mediterranean, Europe and the USA.

The construction and operation of the pipeline will ensure the flow of increasing  amounts of oil to international markets, to cover their ever-rising needs, while helping to relieve the congestion of the Straits of Bosporus and Dardanelles.

Through the 279 km-long oil pipeline, from the port of Burgas, in Bulgaria, to Alexandroupoli, in Greece, with a total budget of €900-1,000 million, and initial annual output of 35 million tons – with the potential for an increase to 50 million tons p.a. – Greece and Bulgaria are positioning themselves firmly on the international oil map, and will benefit from numerous financial and social returns.

It is yet another stage in the transformation of Greece into a major energy hub in the region of Southeast Europe, and at the same time achieve a national objective that was initially set in 1993. Fourteen years have gone by since then, and the fact that all Greek governments have supported the plan indicates the significance of its contribution to upgrading our country’s role in the vital energy sector. As Foreign Minister Ms. Dora Bakoyannis recently stressed, projects like this “strengthen the international position and role of our country in a sector of international diplomacy – energy diplomacy – that is of ever increasing importance in the international strategic environment.”

Special port facilities will be constructed in the area of Alexandroupoli for the  pipeline’s ancillary services, while revenues, paid as transit fees to the Greek State, will be allocated for further development of the broader Evros area and its neighbouring regions.