Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said that gas interconnection between Bulgaria and Greece could start operations as early as July, several months earlier than most predictions, thus enabling the supply of Azerbaijani natural gas to Bulgaria.
With the interconnection at full capacity, Bulgaria will receive one billion cubic meters of gas per year from Azerbaijan.
PM Petkov said that he believes that, in late July or August, Azeri natural gas would reach Bulgaria at a price that is multiple times lower than the current market price. He added that the Government is working on a mix of supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Azeri natural gas so that the average delivery price is better than that of Russian Gazprom. In late April, Gazprom halted gas supply to Bulgaria.
182 kilometers long Bulgaria-Greece gas interconnection is designed with the capacity between 3 and 5 billion cubic meters of gas per year, but it could be extended up to 10 billion cubic meters in case of commercial interest and economical justification. The construction of the pipeline officially started on 22 May 2019.
