Bulgaria's Deputy Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov has refrained from elaborating on reports that an offshore gas exploration at the Black Sea block of Khan Asparuh found no deposits.

"The information as to whether there are oil and gas is to be processed and passed on to the Ministry of Energy," Stankov has told the Bulgarian National Radio.

He has made clear that the drilling was made successfully "with no impact whatsoever on the environment".

Drilling began in the spring of this year. After an exploration contract was signed with a consortium of France's Total, Austria's OMV and Spain's Repsol, the first exploration had been scheduled for 2014, but the slump in global oil prices prompted a delay.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!