21:00, 24 May 2010

Bagapsh: Abkhazia to extract Black Sea oil

As stated today in Sukhumi at a press conference by local President Sergey Bagapsh, Abkhazia, like other countries of the Black Sea region, would develop sea oil fields.

"Practically all the countries of the region, except us, are extracting Black Sea oil - Georgia, Turkey, Rumania, Bulgaria and Ukraine," the "Interfax" quotes Mr Bagapsh as saying.

"If we agree that Black Sea oil shelves should not be development, I'll vote for that with my both hands; but if all our neighbours go on with the work, we'll not stand aside," he said and added that according to the old Soviet-time data most of the oil is in the Black Sea shelves.

According to the Internet Edition "Experts' Club", Sergey Bagapsh promised that oil development would take into account the situation in the region and would be run under international ecological standards.