Pan-European Pipeline

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Pan-European is a proposed oil pipeline from Constanţa in Romania via Serbia and Croatia to a point near Rijeka and from there through Slovenia to Trieste in Italy. The aim of 1,319-kilometre long pipeline is to bypass Turkish straits in the transportation of Russian and Caspian oil. The pipeline, which would cost about 2 billion euro, will feed refineries in South-Eastern Europe, Italy, Austria and Bavaria at least with 40,000,000 ton of oil per year.

The project was proposed in 2002. The project is sponsored by so far unindentified group of industrial interests that possibly include^[1] General Electric Oil and Gas, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Chevron, Texaco and British Petroleum. Lobbyists for the project include Henry Owen, a close friend to the Bush familly. Owen has written a lobbying letter to the minister of finance of Slovenia, Andrej Bajuk^[1] in the first half of 2006.

National governments of Romania, Serbia and Croatia are favourable about the project. Most engaged is the President of Romania, Traian Basescu, who has cited a study estimating the benfits of the project for Romania over 20 years of operation in the range between 2.27 to 4.39 billion US dollars.^[1] Government of Slovenia is not favouable about the project, citing the following reasons: the 29 km stretch is on the environmentally sensiteve Karst terrain, no national interest exists regarding oil supply, and, the memorandum proposed is too binding for the Government which can not secure a construction permit without respect to the legal siting procedure.^[2]

Signing of the memorandum of understanding on the construction of the pipeline was several times delayed. An agreement to begin work on the pipeline was signed on 3 April 2007 by officials of Croatia, Italy, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia during an energy forum in Zagreb.^[3]