MOSCOW (Sputnik) — South Stream Bulgaria, owned by Russia's Gazprom and Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), suspended its operations in 2014 after Russia canceled the project due to alleged non-compliance with EU energy regulations.
"This joint-stock company owns assets: documents related to the environmental impact assessment, a detailed territorial plan, a technical project that has been prepared for the most part… It may be useful to Bulgaria in view of our concept to build a gas distribution center in Bulgaria because the routes, which can be used to transport gas are not different from those which we had already considered and approved," Petkova was quoted by Nova TV on Thursday.
The South Stream gas pipeline was intended to traverse the Black Sea to deliver Russian natural gas through Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia to Italy and Austria to avoid exporting gas through the territory of Ukraine.
The European Commission was against the implementation of the South Stream as the project was allegedly in breach of the EU third energy package, under which one and the same company cannot own the gas and operate the pipeline. On December 1, 2014, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would halt the implementation of the South Stream.