Balkan oil project gets backing

Russia's Putin hopes to seal a deal in Athens

Russia has won backing from Greece and Bulgaria for an oil pipeline project to link all three countries.

President Vladimir Putin met Greek and Bulgarian leaders to discuss the project during a visit to Athens.

Proposals for the 175-mile (280km) pipeline have been under negotiation for the past 14 years.

Pressure to adopt alternative routes and political disputes have delayed the project, which would cement Russia's status as Europe's key energy supplier.

Moscow's ambition

Mr Putin reached the agreement over the pipeline, described as a declaration of political support, during a one-day visit to the Greek capital.

The declaration paves the way for the next step in the pipeline's progress, an intergovernmental agreement, that should take place before the end of 2006.

The pipeline's route would bypass Turkey and reduce the number of oil tankers that need to pass through the congested and narrow Bosphorus Straits.

Oil would be shipped from Russia across the Black Sea to Bulgaria, and then pumped via the pipeline to a port in Northern Greece.

The new route would give Russian oil exports a direct path to the Mediterranean Sea for the first time.

Other options for avoiding the Bosphorus have been suggested, including a US-backed scheme to ship oil through Albania.

Russia supports the Bulgarian and Greek route as being the shortest and cheapest way to cut out the Bosphorus.

The cost of the project is estimated at about 1bn euros ($1.28bn; £674m).

Russian interests in the project will be represented by energy businesses TNK-BP, Gazprom and Rosneft.

Tanker jam

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis is reported to have described conditions for signing an agreement as "ripe".

Fears over the security of Middle East oil supplies and concerns over tanker accidents and delays in the Bosphorus have added momentum to the project.

The existing route is so busy that tankers sometimes have to wait as long as 10 days to pass through the Straits.

If the project goes ahead, the pipeline could begin shipping oil in 2009 and reach its intended capacity of 800,000 barrels of oil per day by 2012.

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov also attended the summit in Athens.

As well as clinching the oil deal, President Putin was expected to discuss Russia's desire to expand a pipeline that carries its gas exports through Turkey and Greece during the meeting.