Expansion of Bulgaria’s Chiren Gas Depot to Cost EUR 200 M

Business » ENERGY | September 24, 2014, Wednesday // 08:25
Bulgaria: Expansion of Bulgaria’s Chiren Gas Depot to Cost EUR 200 M Photo by BGNES

The expansion of Bulgaria’s Chiren underground gas depot will cost around EUR 200 M, according to Kiril Temelkov, CEO of state-owned gas transmission operator Bulgartransgaz.

Speaking Tuesday at an open session of the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR), Temelkov explained that the consumers would provide the funding for a potential expansion of the gas storage facility.

He informed that Bulgartransgaz had asked the EU to declare the gas storage facility a site of regional importance, adding that 50% of the money was expected to be provided through this measure and that other sources of funding were also being sought.

Temelkov, as cited by the Focus news agency, announced that the final decision on the matter had to be taken by the beginning of 2016 and that the expansion of the Chiren underground gas storage was expected to take around 3 years.

He also informed that the issue of filling up the gas depot was mainly up to the traders who had to declare quantities of natural gas to be injected into the storage facility.

“We are not entitled to buy gas except for the purpose of securing a reserve in the case of a crisis. Bulgartransgaz bought and injected into the Chiren gas depot a total of 140 million cubic meters of gas under a decision of the Council of Ministers. Apart from that, we have no right to buy or sell gas,” Temelkov stated.

He specified that the Bulgaria-Romania gas grid interconnection was to be completed by end-2014, adding that the delay was due to technical difficulties which the contractor had faced in the course of the implementation of the project.

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Tags: Chiren, gas storage, Bulgartransgaz, Kiril Temelkov, gas crisis

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