22.12.2020
Starting from 31 December 2020, Bulgaria will get natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan. As per the contract that Bulgargaz has signed with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), one billion cubic meters of natural gas will be delivered annually to Bulgaria from the Shah Deniz 2 field for a period of 25 years.
“We guarantee that on 1 January next year we will have not only diversification, but also Azeri gas supplies that are transported to the territory of Bulgaria via Greece. On 1 January 2021, we will welcome the Azeri gas that so many generations of politicians negotiated with Azerbaijan. The Government of the United Patriots and GERB is performing well and afforded this opportunity for full diversification,” Prime Minister Borissov said at today’s cabinet sitting.
Energy Minister Petkova noted the importance of the agreement with Azerbaijan. “This is an extremely important agreement that has bearing on the achievement of our priorities – the diversification of natural gas supplies. This agreement will enable Bulgaria from 31 December 2020 onwards to have a new, different source,” Mrs. Petkova said.
Until the beginning of October 2021, Bulgaria will be supplied with natural gas via a temporary possible point of delivery – Koulata, which interconnects the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) into the Greek gas transmission system. In the meantime, we continue the construction of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB). It is the interconnection of the TAP and IGB-Komotini that will be the point of supply of Azerbaijani gas after this transitional period of several months. The construction of the interconnector was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
