Bulgarian caretaker Minister of Energy Rossen Hristov said that Russian authorities have decided that gas company Gazprom will not work with Bulgaria on supplying Russian natural gas to the country.
Minister Hristov explained that it is unclear whether this is an official statement, but the Ministry is trying to send a message that Bulgaria is ready to resume negotiations on gas supply, which was cut in late April when Bulgaria rejected to pay in rubles. He said that Bulgaria is ready to pay for supplied gas under the same conditions as Germany.
He said that the previous Government reacted “too emotionally” in relations with Russia and Gazprom, adding that natural gas supplied from Russia is the second cheapest option for Bulgaria, after gas from Azerbaijan.
Minister Hristov said that caretaker Government is not planning to launch negotiations on new gas supply deal with Gazprom. It is only interested in getting already contracted quantities of gas in order to avoid paying penalties due to “take or pay” clause in the contract.
He said that Bulgaria is planning to diversify its gas supply and apart from Azerbaijan and Russia, it is also interested in receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG) through Greece and Turkey. He added that the previous Government made a mistake by contracting LNG cargoes from the United states without reserving available LNG slots first.
