site.btaEnergy Minister: Bulgaria Not Buying Russian LNG

Caretaker Minister of Energy Rossen Hristov on Thursday denied allegations that Bulgaria is buying Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG). "Bulgaria received gas from a tanker from Norway, not Russian LNG. The companies trading with Bulgaria are required to guarantee the origin and to prove it is not Russian," Hristov said at a hearing in the National Assembly. He was answering a question from MP Ivailo Mirchev of Democratic Bulgaria about whether this country is receiving Russian LNG from the tanker Velikiy Novgorod, owned by Gazprom.

According to Mirchev, the information system of Bulgartransgaz shows that Bulgaria is importing a lot of gas at present, and the only tanker being unloaded at the Revithoussa LNG Terminal in Greece is the Russian one.

Hristov explained: "The gas we are receiving is from a tanker which was unloaded at that same terminal a few weeks ago, and I personally witnessed part of the process. The tanker was from Norway". The Energy Minister explained that Bulgaria does not have the capacity to take a whole shipload of natural gas and consume it in a few days or store it at a gas storage facility. All gas purchases carried out by the country are swap deals, meaning that someone takes the whole shipload and then delivers the gas in portions throughout the month according to the country's needs. "The gas which is being unloaded at Revithoussa at present is not coming to Bulgaria. It is flowing into the Greek gas transmission network. Meanwhile, we are receiving steady amounts of gas on a regular basis," Hristov said.

He noted, however, that there is no chemical method to identify the origin of the gas molecules. "We may be unable to guarantee the origin of the molecules, but we can guarantee that we are not paying for Russian LNG by asking to see certificates of origin."

Asked whether compensation should be paid for the high price of natural gas, or a cap should be set on the gas price, Hristov said all household consumers should be equally protected. "Ideally, household consumers should be charged approximately the same price for heating, regardless of whether the system they use runs on gas, electricity, or centrally generated steam, so that they do not have to invest thousands of leva in equipment when switching from one type of source to another. How to structure the compensation payments and how necessary they really are, are matters of decision and budget potential," the Minister added.