Bulgarian Minister of Energy Alexander Nikolov said that replacing Russian natural gas with an alternative will cost around 40 % more.
Minister Nikolov said that he is not concerned about the supply of crude oil and oil products, since Lukoil’s subsidiary which owns the refinery in Burgas is registered in Switzerland.
Last month, Nikolov said that Bulgaria will not hold talks with Russian gas company Gazprom on new gas supply contract due to tense situation over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He said that negotiations can start in the second half of the year, but only provided the war has ended by that time. Bulgaria’s current gas supply contract with Gazprom will expire at the end of 2022.
Bulgaria also said that it will not pay in rubles for Russian gas supply.
