site.btaFormer PM Petkov: Natural Gas Will Be Four Times Cheaper When Interconnector with Greece Is Completed

Interviewed on Nova TV on Wednesday, former prime minister Kiril Petkov said natural gas will be four times cheaper when the interconnector with Greece is completed. There is already gas in the pipeline, what is needed are two documents showing that the project is completed and fit for commissioning, which could be issued by the Bulgarian authorities, he said.

Bulgarian public supplier Bulgargaz keeps informing Russia's Gazprom every day that their contract has not been terminated, Petkov said.

"We will go to arbitration and will prove that Bulgaria has honoured the contract," said Petkov, adding that the problem is not Gazprom's demand for payment in roubles but the security of supplies.

Although Bulgaria has a valid contract, Gazprom stopped supplying gas in just 24 hours. Two weeks later, two shiploads of LNG were already on their way and an unloading port in Turkey had been contracted, all in the middle of the greatest crisis, Petkov pointed out. The best part is that the seven shiploads (negotiated by the previous government) will come directly from the producer, without intermediaries, he said, adding that the only thing they had not done was actually sign the contract.

The seven shiploads came at a price less than USD 30 at the European market at that time, said Petkov who thinks LNG from the United States is the best variant for Bulgaria.

Deputy Prime Minister and Transport and Communications Minister Hristo Aleksiev and Regional Development Minister Ivan Shishkov are to inspect part of the Bulgarian section of the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector later on Wednesday.