Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria sign AMBO deal

TIRANA, Jan.30 – The joint project between Russia Bulgaria and Greece about the oil pipeline Burgas-Aleksandropolis, got the green light for the start of building works through a deal signed by the representatives of the three countries in the Bulgarian capital. The project has benefited largely from the public support from Russian President Putin and state owned oil company “Lukoil”, Vagit Alekperov. The AMBO project whereas, a similar pipeline venture that links Bulgaria to Albania through landlocked Macedonia remains mostly at the agreement levels. Bulgaria’s regional development minister and his Macedonian and Albanian counterparts signed a convention on the trans Balkan oil pipeline AMBO. The economy ministers of the three countries, Bulgaria’s Assen Gagauzov, Macedonia’s Vera Rafajlovska, Albania’s Genc Ruli and the president of the investor – the US company AMBO Ted Ferguson will sign the AMBO document very soon. This will give a green light to the beginning of the project’s realization for the construction of an oil pipeline from Bulgaria’s seaside city Burgas and Albania’s city Vlora. During his official visit to Tirana Prime Minister Stanishev declared that he supports the project which is part of the Bulgarian master strategy of regional cooperation and most importantly in the framework of the Corridor VIII. Commenting on the feasibility and success of the project Stanishev said that there should be two necessary elements complementing political will and international cooperation. The first one concerns oil supply and the second is demand. Demand is easier to deal with, said Stanishev because oil is part of the national strategies to diversify their energy portfolios and reduce dependency on electric reserves. No demand lack is estimated. The AMBO agreement includes deals on road and railroad links through the there countries as well as provisions for natural gas transportation. Berisha has also emphasized the importance of such an investment and reconfirmed the decision of the Albanian government to provide all necessary assistance.