Balkans | Gas deliveries from Türkiye to Bulgaria have begun

Within the scope of a 13-year agreement between Turkey and Bulgaria, the first gas shipment to Bulgaria was shipped from the Marmara Erglisi LNG terminal.

Bulgarian Energy Minister Rosen Hristov, BOTAŞ General Manager Burhan Özkan, and BOLGARAZ General Manager Denica Zlativa attended the ceremony, which was held at the Marmara Ereglisi LNG terminal owned by the Tasima ash (BOTAŞ) oil pipeline company.

In his statement to reporters, BOTAŞ General Manager Ozcan said that today is a very important day for Turkey and Bulgaria.

Ozcan stated that they started working closely with Bulgar Gas upon the appointment of the Presidents of Turkey and Bulgaria on December 9, 2022 and said: “We signed this important agreement on January 3 with the extensive support of our Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. The Bulgarian Minister of Energy. As of today, we are implementing the first LNG loading process within the scope of this agreement. We can say that this is the first link to a study that will contribute to securing energy supplies not only in our country, but also in Bulgaria and Europe. I hope that this work that we will do will be beneficial to our country, Bulgaria and Europe. In the coming period These uploads will continue within a certain period.” He said.

Giving information on the first natural gas delivery to Bulgaria, Özkan said, “Today’s delivery will be around 55 million cubic meters, but we will have a total annual delivery of 1.5 billion cubic meters. This capacity is in a position to develop upwards as demands increase. Technically, we have that opportunity.” He said.

Stating that Turkey’s daily LNG conversion capacity has reached 161 million cubic meters with the investments made, Özkan said, “This corresponds to the conversion of natural gas into gas of more than 50 billion cubic meters annually. Therefore, we We open this growing and powerful infrastructure for the use of our neighbor Bulgaria, as well as other European countries. In this regard, we are currently experiencing a really critical day together. Use the phrase.

“Work continues for new collaborations”

Bulgarian Energy Minister Rosen Hristov also stated that the first LNG tanker that Bulgaraz bought from the US company Cheniere docked at the Marmara Ereglisi LNG terminal, and said: “The LNG here will be reclassified, stored and delivered to Bulgaria in cooperation with BOTAŞ. This cooperation has Energy security of Bulgaria is of great importance. It is important not only for Bulgaria, but for the whole of Southeast and Central Europe. He said.

Hristov said that when mentioning energy security, it is necessary to mention not only a country, but also the entire region, “therefore, our cooperation with BOTAŞ guarantees energy security for practically the whole of Europe.” Use the phrase.

Stating that this shipment is the beginning, Hristov said: “We are currently working on other projects that we can cooperate as a whole in the field of natural gas and energy. We consider Turkey a reliable partner and we will definitely expand our cooperation. On April 25-26, we will sign another agreement that will Expanding the infrastructure of Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia, allowing southeastern and central Europe to supply gas in increasing quantities from Azerbaijan. He said.

After the ceremony, Hristov boarded the LNG ship and made inspections with the general manager of Botaş Özkan and the general manager of Bulgaraz Zlativa.

According to the agreement signed between Turkey and Bulgaria on January 3, Bulgaria will supply approximately 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Turkey for a period of 13 years.

AA