The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has announced that it will deliver 370,000 cubic meters of natural gas to Bulgaria’s Asarel-Medet mining and enrichment complex by the end of this year. This was confirmed by Nikolay Peltekov, Executive Director of the complex, in a recent statement.
SOCAR began supplying natural gas to Asarel-Medet through the M-Gaz company on June 21, 2023. According to Peltekov, the current supply volumes are sufficient to meet the complex’s total gas demand. “By the end of the year, Asarel-Medet will have purchased 370,000 cubic meters of natural gas from SOCAR,” Peltekov said.
Due to its lack of direct access to Bulgaria’s gas transportation and distribution network, Asarel-Medet has been using compressed natural gas (CNG). With SOCAR’s supply, Peltekov anticipates more competitive natural gas prices, which will help increase gas consumption for both technological needs and a new cogeneration plant planned for the complex’s site.
Currently, Asarel-Medet consumes approximately 1.3 million cubic meters of gas annually, mostly as CNG during the winter. Peltekov noted that gas consumption is expected to rise to around 100 million cubic meters per year once the new cogeneration unit, designed for electricity production, becomes operational.
Asarel-Medet, Bulgaria’s largest mining company, specializes in the open-pit mining and processing of copper and other ores. The company is a key producer of high-quality copper concentrates and cathode copper.
