Bulgaria May Discover Oil, Gas near Svilengrad

There is a good chance of discovering oil and gas near the Bulgarian-Turkish border, according to Delyan Dobrev, Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism.

Oil and gas exploration activities have been launched near Svilengrad, but there is no accurate information about the capacity of the potential new deposits, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT).

"Even if the quantity of discovered gas is similar to the quantity of gas discovered at Deventsi or at Galata, this would still satisfy around 10% of the national consumption for a certain period of time. It is also important that this gas is significantly cheaper than imported alternatives and these gas concessions fetch huge revenues into state and municipal budgets" Dobrev commented.

In the beginning of September, Bulgaria's Energy Minister told private TV station bTV that conventional oil and gas exploration had been launched for the first time in southern Bulgaria.

It was announced that the exploration activities would first be conducted at Block 1-18 Trakia, which encompasses the municipalities of Svilengrad, Madzharovo, Harmanli, and Lyubimets.

The terrain is part of the so-called oil-gas basin on the territories of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, with 24 gas and 3 oil deposits already discovered in Turkey.