ATHENS, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia, Greece and Bulgaria are very close to signing an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, a deputy Greek foreign minister told RIA Novosti Saturday.

The $1 billion project, which will run 280 kilometers (175 miles) from the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas to Greece's Alexandroupolis, on the Aegean, will allow Russia to export oil through the Black Sea, bypassing the often crowded Bosporus Strait in Turkey.

"The process in ongoing. I am convinced that we are now closer than ever to achieving a practical result. We are still working on it and waiting for the end of the year to show our countries' public opinion how our efforts are developing," Evripidis Stylianidis said.

The leaders of the three countries adopted in Athens September 4 a joint declaration on energy cooperation under which they agreed to sign an intergovernmental deal on the construction of the pipeline in the Balkans by the end of 2006.

TNK-BP [RTS: TNBP], a Russian-British oil venture, acts as a project coordinator on the pipeline construction project, which also includes the participation of Russian energy giant Gazprom.

Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko recently held talks with his Greek and Bulgarian counterparts on the establishment of a trilateral working commission on the pipeline project's implementation in mid-November, 2006.