Bulgaria to do everything possible to buy entire agreed amount of Azerbaijani gas – PM

By Trend

Bulgaria will do everything possible to buy the entire agreed amount of Azerbaijani gas, which will allow to significantly decrease the gas prices in the country, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov told bTV, Trend reports.

“Azerbaijan and Bulgaria signed a contract for supply of 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year via the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria starting from 2021. However, as the IGB’s construction hasn’t been completed, Azerbaijani gas is delivered to Bulgaria via the Kulata-Sidirokastro interconnection point. Bulgaria has received 225 million cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan in the first nine months of 2021,” he said.

Reportedly, Petkov will speak on the topic with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is arriving on a visit to Sofia.

The IGB project enables the transmission of gas and supplies from new sources, making it key to Bulgaria's energy security and part of the national plan for diversification of gas sources. The capacity of the project is 3 billion cubic meters with the option to reach 5 billion cubic meters. Half of the capacity of the interconnector is already reserved, as four of the shippers are completely new to the Bulgarian market. A contract has been signed for the supply of 1 billion cubic meters from Shah Deniz 2 based on a long-term contract with Bulgargaz.

The conclusion of the contract for construction of the interconnector dates back from the end of 2019, as one of the main commitments of the project company in structuring IGB is the obligation to control costs within the approved budget, which will ensure competitive transmission for customers. The delay in construction activities and the approved update of the construction schedule for the end of 2021 are due to objective reasons related to the global coronavirus pandemic and do not lead to direct losses. The established alternative route through the Greek system and Siderokastro provides a temporary solution for servicing the contract with Azerbaijan until IGB is put into commercial operation.