Bulgarian caretaker Minister of Energy Rossen Hristov denied allegations from the opposing parties that Bulgaria is currently importing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Minister Hristov said that Bulgaria received a LNG tanker carrying gas from Norway, not from Russia, adding that gas trading companies are required to provide guarantees for the origin of imported LNG and to prove its is not Russian.
According to the opposition parties, the only tanker currently being unloaded at Greek Revythoussa LNG terminal is owned by Russia. However, the Minister explained that the gas for Bulgaria was unloaded from a Norwegian tanker few weeks ago. Bulgaria does not have the capacity to take a whole shipload of natural gas and consume it in a few days or store it at a gas storage facility. All gas purchases carried out by the country are swap deals, meaning that someone takes the whole shipload and then delivers the gas in portions throughout the month according to the country’s needs. The gas which is currently being unloaded at Revythoussa terminal is not coming to Bulgaria, the Minister was adamant, adding that Bulgaria is receiving steady amounts of gas on a regular basis.
However, he said that that there is no chemical method to identify the origin of the gas molecules, but the authorities can guarantee that Bulgaria is not paying for Russian LNG by asking companies to provide certificates of origin.
Last month, Bulgarian state-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz has selected two Greek companies – DEPA Trade and Mythilineos Group to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bulgaria in the month of November. The statement from the company said that there were thirteen bidders in an auction launched in late September, of which ten were invited to the second, binding round. In the second round, eight companies from the United States, Europe and Asia have submitted binding offers for a total LNG amount of 1,500,000 MWh. Among these, DEPA Trade and Mytilineos, who have already secured storage and regasification slots at Greek Revythoussa LNG terminal, have been selected to supply LNG to Bulgaria.
