Bulgaria signs an agreement with Türkiye to receive gas supplies
Bulgaria has signed an agreement with Türkiye to receive gas supplies, and according to the agreement, it will be able to access the gas infrastructure of its Turkish neighbor under an agreement concluded Tuesday in the Bulgarian Capital Sofia, with the aim of diversifying its supplies, after a break in the supply of Russian gas following the invasion of Ukraine.
“Thus, we will be able to buy gas from all international producers and offload it in Türkiye, where it suits us better logistically,” the Bulgarian acting energy minister, Rosen Hristov said.
The agreement, which covers the next 13 years, includes the transportation of up to 1.5 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas annually, half of Bulgaria’s needs, according to Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez.
The Turkish minister said that the agreement between the Bulgarian national gas company Bulgargas and the Turkish state oil company Botas provides access to Turkish transit stations and networks and will also “increase the security of deliveries” throughout the Balkan region.
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, Bulgaria, a member of the European Union and NATO, was almost completely dependent on Russian gas, about 3 billion cubic meters of gas annually.
Bulgaria saw its gas supplies cut off in April, for refusing to pay in rubles as demanded by Russia in response to EU sanctions.
It’s worth noting that currently Bulgaria is importing around 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Azerbaijan, and last July opened a new gas pipeline linking the country with Greece that supply Bulgarian with LNG imported from the United States.
