Bulgarian 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.
Minister Hristov said that Bulgaria is now looking for alternative gas supply, adding that contact has been made with Turkish suppliers. He reminded that gas supply for September has already been secured via short-term auctions at the Balkan Gas Hub, adding that negotiations over increasing gas supply from Azerbaijan have also started. The goal is to secure enough supply to cover 120 to 150 % of Bulgaria’s needs in order to minimize the risks of any further geopolitical and technical disruptions.
Last week, Bulgaria has requested a two-week delay for the finalization of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contract with US company Cheniere. The postponement is necessary so that Bulgaria can negotiate slots for offloading LNG tankers at the Revythoussa LNG terminal in Greece. However, if the government fails to obtain the delay, the deal with Cheniere will fall through.
The offer for LNG deliveries by Cheniere was agreed by the former Government of Kiril Petkov. Former energy minister Alexander Nikolov said earlier this month that the binding offer of Cheniere is for seven LNG tankers, three of which to be delivered in 2022, with the first one due to be offloaded in October.
