site.btaUPDATED Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee: Bulgargaz Sought Excuse to Give Up Russian Gas

A parliamentary ad hoc committee which looked into the circumstances that led to the cutoff of Russian natural gas supplies for Bulgaria in April and the selection of alternative suppliers, has concluded that Bulgarian gas supplier Bulgargaz provided manipulative information about its communication with Gazprom and only sought an excuse to give up Russian gas. The findings of the committee transpired during a debate in Parliament Wednesday.

Parliament failed to adopt the report by a vote of 94-70, with 48 abstentions. Six of the members of the ad hoc committee from the ruling coalition signed the report with reservations. MPs from GERB-UDF, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), Vazrazhdane and one MP from BSP for Bulgaria backed the report.

During the debate, the opposition MRF insisted that outgoing Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and outgoing Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov should be present in the plenary hall during the debate. 

According to the report findings, the decision to not service the contract with Gazprom after payment terms were changed by Russia, was not taken after careful consideration and a broad public consensus and support.

The report also says that the alternative supplies from intermediaries are much more expensive than Russia’s supplies and the manner in which traders were selected is non-transparent with vague rules and criteria, while only a limited circle of traders were invited to bid.

The ad hoc committee has found that Bulgargaz reports gas is still drawn from the underground storage facility in Chiren after the season ended and parallel with that gas is injected into the facility, bought from intermediaries at much higher prices. Cheap gas from the storage facility is drawn and replaced with gas that is twice more expensive, which puts a price risk for the Bulgarian gas market and especially for the heating utilities during the next season, the report concludes.

The document says there are data about sharp worsening of the financial situation of the public supplier Bulgargaz from February which poses real risks, including payments for Azeri gas supplies, the implementation of the contracts with clients, and licences for trade in natural gas in Bulgaria and Greece.