Bulgaria to Sign Direct Gas Supply Contract with Russia

Business » ENERGY | May 21, 2012, Monday // 11:18
Bulgaria: Bulgaria to Sign Direct Gas Supply Contract with Russia Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev has specified that Bulgaria's next gas supply contracts with Russia will not feature intermediaries. Photo by BGNES

The 11% discount on gas supplies from Russia is tied to fast-tracking the South Stream gas pipeline, according to Delyan Dobrev, Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism.

In a Monday interview for the morning broadcast of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT), he specified that Bulgaria was to wrap up the paperwork on project by November 15, with Russia planning to start construction works in December.

Dobrev announced that Bulgaria's next gas supply contract with Russia would be signed directly with Gazprom Export and would not include intermediary companies.

The Energy Minister explained that Bulgaria would seek a mid-term contract for a period of seven years, starting 2013.

He went on to say that the Sofia Tech Park project presented last week by Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev would be launched this week

At the end of last week, Plevneliev, who is on an official visit to the US, announced that a plot on the 4th kilometer intersection of the Tsarigradsko Shose Blvd in Sofia had already been selected for the project.

He specified that the terrain was property of the Ministry of Defense.

Plevneliev announced that the turning of the first shod would take place in the second half of 2013.

In his Monday interview, Dobrev added that a project company for Sofia Tech would be registered by the end of the week with an initial capital of BGN 3 M.

The Energy Minister noted that the project would subsequently make use of a sum of EUR 50 M under the Competitiveness Operational Program.

Dobrev went on to specify that the project company for the construction of a seventh unit of the Kozloduy NPP had been registered around ten days ago with an initial capital of BGN 2 M distributed into 200 000 shares.

The idea to build a seventh unit at the Kozloduy NPP surfaced after the center-right GERB government suspended the Belene NPP project.

He added that "Kozloduy NPP - New Capacities" was 100% owned by the Kozloduy NPP.

"When a project of this kind is being implemented, there needs to be a project company from the very beginning. This never happened with the Belene NPP, which is one of the reasons why the project fell through," Dobrev added.

"In this case, there is a project company, which is responsible for the implementation of the project. It has a certain initial capital that can be invested into social, economic and financial analyses. As a result, the financial condition and the stability of the Kozloduy NPP will not be exposed to risks, as was the case with the national power utility NEK and the Belene NPP project," Dobrev stated.

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Tags: Delyan Dobrev, Energy and Economy Minister, gas supplies, gas supply, intermediaries, sofia tech park, Kozloduy NPP, Belene NPP, South Stream gas pipeline

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