Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court announced that it has overturned the previous court ruling banning natural gas exploration activities in Dobrich region in northeastern Bulgaria.
The statement from the Supreme Administrative Court said that it has upheld the ruling of Varna Administrative Court from January, which found the ban to be unlawful, as there were no specific proof for the local environmental inspectorate to ban natural gas exploration and exploitation activities to company Rusgeocom BG.
Rusgeocom BG was planning to launch exploration drilling campaign at the Spasovo deposit in the General Toshevo municipality in northeastern Bulgaria. An overwhelming majority of the residents of General Toshevo municipality rejected the plans for exploration, extraction and processing of gas in the area at a local referendum which was held in late 2017. The referendum was triggered by protests sparked by concerns over the environmental impact of the project.
