Regarding the suspension of natural gas supplies after their unilateral decision by OOO Gazprom Export on April 27, 2022, the Ministry of Energy and Bulgargaz EAD informed:
After the notification of Gazprom Export LLC dated 26.04.2022 that the deliveries for Bulgargaz EAD are suspended, despite the fulfilled financial obligations to the Russian supplier for April 2022, as of 07.00 on 27.04.2022, Bulgargaz EAD took immediate action to supply gas to its customers. On April 26, 2022, Bulgargaz EAD submitted a written request to natural gas traders operating on the Bulgarian and regional gas markets to submit offers under specific conditions for the supply of natural gas by for April and for May 2022. Inquiries regarding the possibility of supplying natural gas in volumes necessary to meet the consumption of the Bulgarian consumers after the termination of the long-term contract with Gazprom Export were sent to 12 active traders in Bulgaria and in the regional market.
Within the deadline for submission of bids provided by Bulgargaz EAD, some of the invited companies informed that they were not able to submit proposals for the specified period. After an analysis of the submitted proposals, seven offers from three suppliers were ranked under the criterion of “lowest delivery price”. The bids were ranked in accordance with the terms of Bulgargaz EAD and until the necessary quantities are provided, in order to fulfill the binding supply contracts with Bulgarian customers for May 2022 and to ensure security and continuity of supply.
Following the announced suspension of gas supplies to Bulgaria by Gazprom, Deputy Prime Minister Assen Vassilev held a series of meetings with representatives of the European Commission (EC). As a result, the EC and Bulgaria agreed to set up the first regional working group in Sofia as part of the EU’s Energy Purchase Platform. This pilot will look at gas and electricity needs, prices and flows, as well as infrastructure aspects. The regional taskforce will concentrate on the year ahead and provide specific regional expertise and know-how to develop and implement the REPowerEU action plan to reduce dependency on Russian fossil fuels, fill storage ahead of next winter and further accelerate the decarbonisation of the energy sector.
Source: Ministry of Energy, Publics.bg
