Earlier in May, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, after a visit to the United States, announced that Bulgaria had bought two LNG cargoes of about 200 million cubic meters of gas in total, which are expected to arrive on 8 and 23 June. Financial details of the deal and the name of the company that will supply US LNG were not disclosed.
However, Bulgarian energy expert Vasko Nachev said in an interview that US company Cheniere is the supplier of agreed two LNG cargoes for Bulgaria. Cheniere is the company with which Bulgaria has an old long-term contract for the supply of liquefied natural gas but it has not yet been activated. It should enter into force after the commissioning of Greek LNG terminal in Alexandroupoli, in which Bulgaria has 20 % stake. However, the contract is for a negligible amount – only 50 million cubic meters.
According to Nachev, the contract will be withdrawn at an earlier time and will be with increased volumes for supplies. It is important to keep in mind that the two cargoes expected soon are not at long-term contract prices. It is not clear whether they include any trade discounts, because this is a trade secret.
However, if Cheniere’s contract is renewed and changed, Bulgaria could win in the long run. The goal is to negotiate deliveries at prices at the American Henry Hub – the most liquid gas exchange in the world, where the price starts at 28 dollars/MWh, much lower than European exchanges.
Cheniere began operations in 2016 and is currently the largest producer of LNG in the United States and the second-largest operator in the world.
