Russia has obtained all the permits necessary to build its 'South Stream' gas pipeline through Turkish territorial waters, discarding Bulgaria as one of the project's transit countries,according to pioneer -investors quoting the Russian press.

The Gazprom-ENI South Stream project is seen as a rival to the EU's Nabucco pipeline and its commissioning term is also nearly identical to its rival EU-favoured project.

Until now, Bulgaria was considered key to the South Steam gas pipeline project, which is planned to run from the Black Sea's Northern Caucasus shore to the Bulgarian port city of Varna.

Russia recently signed agreements with Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Slovenia to start building South Stream, and also announced that it would more than double its planned capacity from 31 billion cubic metres per year (bcm/y) to 63 bcm/y. Until now, Nabucco and South Stream's capacities were considered identical (30 bcm/y), making South Stream potentially more interesting.

Bulgaria's centre-right GERB party, which is built around the personality of current Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, won national elections on 5 July . The former socialist-led government was seen as more sympathetic to Moscow. Russia has had a consistent policy of eliminating countries judged as unfriendly to its pipeline projects, the most recent examples being South Steam, designed first and foremost to bypass Ukraine, and Nord Stream, which circumvents Poland and the three Baltic countries.

Taner Yildiz, Turkey's economy minister, has granted all the necessary authorisations for the South Stream project to run through Turkish territory, the Russian daily Kommersant writes.

The event, which was hosted by Italian Economy Minister Claudio Scajola in Milan on Friday (19 October), eliminated Bulgaria as a transit country for the Gazprom-favoured pipeline, the daily writes. Bulgaria was also evicted from the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project, the newspaper adds.