Bulgaria Gains Access to Turkish LNG Terminals for 13 Years

Jerusalem, 3 January, 2023 (TPS) -- SOFIA, 03.01.2023 (BTA)
Bulgarian state-owned gas company Bulgargaz and Turkish state-owned energy company Botas signed an agreement on Tuesday that grants Bulgaria access to the Turkish LNG terminals for 13 years. The Bulgarian caretaker Minister of Energy, Rossen Hristov, who attended the event, said that this agreement secures the possibility to purchase gas from all global producers and unload it in Turkiye.

Hristov called the signing a historic moment.

“Over the past year, we had serious problems with LNG supplies precisely because of the lack of infrastructure. Now, together with our colleagues from Turkiye, we are solving this problem,” Hristov added.

The Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez, who also attended the signing, expressed satisfaction that the matter discussed in Istanbul in December are now turning into specific steps. “Today, we signed a protocol that will develop cooperation on natural gas between the two countries and strengthen our relations,” Donmez said. He pointed out that the agreement will improve the security of natural gas supply in the Balkan region. The annual gas transfer will be 1.5 billion cubic meters.

The agreement grants Bulgaria access to five Turkish LNG terminals. The capacity, which is enshrined in the document, is available and can be increased, Donmez added.