The construction of the South Stream gas pipeline will not jeopardize the environmental balance in the Black Sea, experts of Russian gas supplier Gazprom and the Russian Academy of Science siad Thursday in a Moscow-Sofia video conference, BTA reported.

The focus of the video conference was the environmental safety of the South Stream pipeline and was organized by RIA Novosty.

Once completed, the South Stream pipeline will link Russia and the European Union under the Black Sea and through Bulgaria. The project was started with the signing of a deal between Gazprom and Italy's Eni in the summer of 2007. Bulgaria signed up in early 2008 during the Sofia visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The preparation and construction of the facility will use the experience from the Blue Stream pipeline, said Grigori Vilchek of Gazprom's research institute. Work on the technical and economic part of the project is starting now, including in-depth analysis of all aspects (legal, economic, financial and environmental impact).

All project activities will comply strictly with the national legislations of the participating nations and all applicable international accords and conventions, said Vilchek. There will be environmental monitoring throughout the construction period. The gas pipeline will go at a depth of 2,000 m and will be some 900 km long.

Tanya Milkova of the Varna Basin Directorate with the Environment Ministry said that the pipeline is expected to re-surface at the Bulgarian coast some 8 km south of Varna but the exact location is still unknown. The leader of the Green Party, Alexander Karakachanov, too, called for more publicity on the project.

The director of the Institute of Geoecology with the Russian Academy of Sciences, Viktor Ossipov, said that the Blue Stream pipeline which takes Russian gas to Turkey through the Black Sea, used the latest achievements in the area of environmental protection and there has been no data of any damage to environment so far.

Georgi Hibaum who heads a department at the national laboratory for general ecology, suggested that international experts join the team that will prepare the environmental impact assessment to ensure full transparency. It should be checked whether the pipeline will not disturb the natural habitats of bottom fish, mussels and some protected algae whose natural environment are the coastal reefs on Bulgaria's Northern Black Sea, he said.

The Green Party leader said his party believes that South Stream, unlike the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, could be good for Bulgaria if it is properly implemented.

He urged Gazprom to set an example for businesses with a new attitude to environment by setting aside a fraction of the profit from the South Stream project in a special fund for protection of the Black Sea.