Bulgarian caretaker Ministry of Energy said that the capacities at Greek liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Revythoussa have been reserved by private companies which are leasing the slots at much higher prices.
This statement came as a response to an interview with former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov who said that the caretaker Government has failed to secure LNG slots at Revythoussa for six more LNG cargoes from the United States, which were arranged by his Government.
The caretaker Energy Ministry said in a statement that, if any slots at Revythoussa terminal were available, why the previous Government did not reserve them, once the cargoes from the US were confirmed. The Ministry added that in a letter from former head of public gas supplier Bulgargaz, it was stated that slots for agreed volumes of US LNG were not offered at the Revythoussa terminal, while the price of capacity at Greece-Bulgaria interconnection point was increased fourfold.
Last week, caretaker Minister of Energy Rossen Hristov said that US company Cheniere has rejected Bulgaria’s request for a two-week delay for the finalization of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contract. The deadline for signing the contract expires on 19 August. The postponement was necessary so that Bulgaria can negotiate slots for offloading LNG tankers at the Revythoussa LNG terminal in Greece.
