Bulgargaz signs agreement with Azerbaijan to continue gas supplies

Bulgargaz has signed a contract with Azerbaijan to continue partial deliveries through the other point in Greece and promises to try to import even larger quantities, Report informs, citing Bulgarian media.

This may lead to a reduction in the price for next month, but Nikolai Pavlov refused to commit to such an assumption.

The price is inflated in Europe by Gazprom's supplies. At the moment, Azeri gas is almost 50% cheaper, but Bulgaria cannot import its entire agreed amount since the interconnector with Greece is not ready yet.

If the connection was built, the gas would be cheaper, confirmed the head of BGZ Nikolay Pavlov. However, he declined to say how much less.

The increase in the price of natural gas for October reflects the trend of continuing a sharp rise in the prices of natural gas on the international gas markets. The data show that in September, natural gas prices in these markets increased by over 50%. Bulgargaz EAD, the price that the company offers for the Bulgarian market, is about 20% lower than the prices of the European gas hubs, and since the beginning of 2021, the consumers in our country have paid BGN 140 million less compared to with consumers in Europe.

The IGB is intended for export to Bulgaria of natural gas produced within the full-field development of Shah Deniz gas-condensate field or Shah Deniz Stage 2 (SD2) in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The interconnector will be linked to the TAP. Through IGB, Bulgaria will receive 1 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas per year.

State-owned Bulgargaz EAD signed a contract with the Shah Deniz consortium to purchase 1 billion cubic meters of gas from the Shah Deniz-2 field. Azerbaijani gas will cover 25-30% of Bulgaria's natural gas needs. The length of the interconnector is 182 km, of which 150 km runs through the Bulgarian territory. The annual capacity of the interconnector is about 3-5 billion cubic meters.