The Level of Transparency of Oil and Gas Transit Operations Through Bulgaria, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine

This report is the result of the “Promoting Hydrocarbon Transit Transparency in Bulgaria, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine” research project undertaken under the auspices of the Open Society Georgia Foundation1 across these four participating countries.

The major objective of the project was to effectuate transparency in the hydrocarbon transit sector in these countries of the east-west energy corridor. To achieve this important objective, the project team performed a country-by-country research of transit operations and examined their degree of transparency in the context of state revenue generation. The present report presents conclusive results of these project activities.

The lack of transparency of revenue schemes relevant to transit arrangements and the unavailability of reliable data and basic communication obstructions with key actors are the biggest problematic areas. The report sets forth generalized policy recommendations based on these preliminary findings, with suggestions for further actions.

The research is well-aligned to the general scope of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative2 (EITI). However, the EITI focus in this report has been slightly altered from transparency in extractive industries to transit industries. The principles of EITI - the engagement of civil society in the oversight of management and deployment of revenues for the benefit of effective economic and social development – have not changed in the EITI transit initiative.