Bulgarian outgoing Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said that said that, with the help of the European Commission, Bulgaria has managed to agree with a US company the delivery of seven LNG cargoes in the period from October 2022 to April 2023.
According to PM Petkov, the agreement will be signed shortly, but will need to be confirmed by 19 August. This means that if the caretaker Government, whose appointment is pending, finds a better offer or if problems arise with the provision of infrastructure for r-gasification and transit of the gas, the offer can be declined.
He said that the Energy Ministry will propose signing an agreement on delivery of seven LNG cargo ships. The condition for receiving the seven LNG cargoes is to ensure the necessary infrastructure from Greece and Turkey, which needs to be done next month by the caretaker Government that will be appointed and the interim Energy Ministry. The agreement that will be proposed is an important effort of the outgoing Government, together with the European Commission, to ensure natural gas for the winter months.
Minister of Energy Alexander Nikolov said that the first delivery can arrive in October at the Greek Revythoussa LNG terminal, where public supplier Bulgargaz has already reserved a slot. He explained that the offer is divided into two parts: three cargoes in 2022 and four in 2023, the latter of which will be under different terms and conditions which are yet to be agreed.
Minister Nikolov said that the price of the LNG in the offer is based on the gas prices at the US Henry Hub which he said are more stable than at the European TTF gas hub in the Netherlands. He said that at the time the offer was made, the price was approximately 30 dollars below the European one. However, when the costs for regasification and transit are added, the price advantage is estimated to be at around 20 dollars. However, he declined to reveal the name of the US supplier, as it is considered a trade secret.
The total volume of gas to be delivered in these seven cargoes is estimated at 995 million cubic meters.
