Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Italy yesterday signed a
ministerial declaration on supplying oil from the energy-rich Caspian region to
the European Union.
The project, dubbed the Pan-European Oil Pipeline (PEOP), was "of strategic
importance" for Croatia and other countries involved in its development, and the
regional economy was expected to benefit from it, said Croatian Prime Minister
Ivo Sanader after the signing ceremony.
Croatia's direct economic benefit, depending on the pipeline's capacity, is
expected to range between 1.3 and 2.2 billion U.S. dollars, and Croatia's
investments in the project would range from550 to 980 million U.S. dollars,
Sanader said.
The project would also significantly reduce oil tanker transport in the
Adriatic, the prime minister added.
The PEOP, estimated to be some 1,856 kilometers long, will connect the
Romanian port of Constanta and Trieste in Italy, running through Romania,
Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia to the Trans-Alpine Line oil pipeline near Trieste.
The pipeline is expected to be put into operation between 2011 and 2013. It
would effectively cut down on the number of oil tankers in the Turkish straits
and Northern Adriatic.
The total cost of the PEOP project is estimated at 2.62 billion U.S. dollars
if the pipeline's annual capacity is 60 million tons, or 3.96 billion U.S.
dollars if its annual capacity is 90 million tons.
The declaration was signed at a forum on energy security, held in Zagreb as
part of Croatia's presidency of the Southeast European Cooperation Process, a
regional and non-institutionalized process coordinated by the presiding country.
European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, who also signed the
declaration, said that global oil demand was expected to increase by 41 percent
in the next 25 years, which underlined the importance of building necessary
infrastructure linking markets with oil-rich regions.
The signing of the declaration was also welcomed by officials from other
signatory countries, who cited the stability of oil supply from the Caspian
region and possibilities of regional development as the main advantages of the
project.
Slovenian Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak said the declaration should not be
binding, but convey good political will.
"If the project is approved by experts, Slovenia will support it in view of
the common energy policy," said Vizjak.