Negotiations between Bulgaria and Iran on Monday are tied to the forming
of a "first joint gas center" in the country, Mehr News Agency
writes.
In a report on Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's visit to the Islamic
Republic, the agency claims that a "joint gas hub" will give rise to
the country's return to Nabucco project.
With economic documents between the two states now facilitating trade
cooperation between Tehran and Sofia, Iran "is more likely to join Nabucco-West
pipeline," according to the report.
International sanctions against the country were among the reasons that brought
the project to an end.
Last year, however, Iran's Ambassador to Bulgaria, Abdollah Norouzi, told
Novinite that a renewal of the Nabucco project had been brought up in his
meeting with Borisov, Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, and other cabinet
officials.
The information comes as Bulgaria has been trying for months to pitch its idea
of a "gas hub" internationally, following the demise of the South
Stream project it was to carry out with Russia. Lack of diverse partners for gas
deliveries has often been pointed to as a possible hindrance to the project,
which Borisov has portrayed as Bulgaria's own initiative.
Separately, Borisov and Iran's First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri agreed earlier on Monday to explore a transport corridor project that would link Bulgaria and Iran through Armenia and Georgia, virtually bypassing Turkey, and that, in Borisov's own words, could carry "even gas".
(novinite.com)
