Bulgaria will not renew its gas supply contract with Russia’s Gazprom amid the war in Ukraine and will consider alternative supplies and a future joint European Union contract to avoid shortages, Deputy Prime Minister Assen Vasilev said on Saturday. Bloomberg.
The Balkan country supplies almost all of its natural gas through a 10-year contract with Gazprom that expires at the end of 2022. For years, it has delayed projects to diversify its sources, including the pipeline connection with Greece and the expansion of its unique country gas storage facility. The government is seeking to speed up both projects amid fears that the war in Ukraine could cause unrest.
“In this situation, there is no way there can be talks with Gazprom,” Vassilev told BNR state radio. “We have held talks with both Greece and Turkey” to use the existing infrastructure for liquefied natural gas supplies and increase deliveries from Azerbaijan, with which the country has a contract, Vassilev said.
The government hopes to have a common EU procurement mechanism in place by the end of the summer, which will allow the bloc to negotiate better prices, he said.
The war has already forced the EU to redefine its energy policy and seek a faster reduction in its dependence on Russia, the largest energy supplier. The European Commission last week outlined a plan to replace nearly two-thirds of Russia’s gas imports this year and seeks to phase out all dependence on all fossil fuels from Moscow by 2027.
Source: Capital
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