Natural gas up not by 14% but by 30% as of January 1 As of January 1, natural gas has risen in price by 30.41% to BGN 133.41 per megawatt-hour excluding the costs of access, transmission, excise and VAT. This was decided at a closed meeting of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) on the occasion of Bulgargaz's application. The reason is the continuing rise in natural gas prices on international markets. In December the price of gas was 102.33 BGN / mWh. In mid-December, Bulgargaz had offered a price of BGN 117.12, but it reported a record increase in gas prices in the days around Christmas - then briefly the Dutch TTF index exceeded the limit of 175 EUR / mWh. In extensive reports, EWRC and Bulgargaz commented that the increase in prices could not be avoided. Bulgargaz explains in detail why the supply of Azerbaijani gas can not compensate for the increase in prices and assures that despite the increase the price for Bulgarian consumers remains 35% lower than the prices of European gas exchanges, and in 2021 the supplier has saved Bulgarian consumers BGN 675 million
Source: Capital (01.01.2022)

Bulgargaz offers a lower price for natural gas Bulgargaz proposes that natural gas fall in price in February by 14.3 percent compared to the current price. This was stated by the state company in an open letter sent to the media. Bulgargaz has submitted its proposal to the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC). The gas company also announced its forecast for March 2022, which envisages a further reduction in the price of natural gas between 1 and 2 percent. On January 1, the independent regulator raised the price of natural gas by 30 percent. The price for February will be determined on its first day by the EWRC on the basis of the application and the data from the current month. The estimated price of natural gas for March 2022 is BGN 112.44 / MWh (excluding prices for access, transmission, excise and VAT) or BGN 58.49 / MWh, calculated according to the BNB fixing, Bulgargaz reports. The estimated price is formed on the basis of estimated values ??of the price-forming components as of January 10, 2022. For comparison, the estimated price on the European gas markets (as of January 10, 2022) for supplies in March 2022 is approximately 83 EUR / MWh or BGN 162.33 / MWh, according to the company. The final proposal for approval of the price of natural gas for March 2022 will be submitted to the EWRC on March 1, 2022, taking into account the quotations of the price-forming components as of February 28, 2022.
Source: money.bg (13.01.2022)

Bulgargaz has given up cheap Azeri gas Bulgargaz itself has refused to receive the full quantities of cheap Azeri gas. This was done with an annex to the contract for the supply of fuel, according to a written response from Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov to a question from MP Ivaylo Mirchev of Democratic Bulgaria. The MP raised the question "whether the reasons for Bulgaria not receiving the agreed amount of Azeri gas are being investigated, whether a connection has been established between the non-completion of the IGB interconnector so that the full volume of Azeri gas is not imported." According to the contract signed between Bulgargaz and Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company (AGSC), the IGB (Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnection) is listed as one of the natural gas supply points, but this does not mean that Bulgargaz has not been able to receive the full volumes of natural gas. The other route is through Nea Mesemvria and from there to Sidorokastro-Kulata. "As a result of all actions taken by Bulgargaz, including the annexes to the original supply contract, the delivery of the current full quantities of natural gas requires the explicit consent of AGSC," added Minister Nikolov. According to the 2013 contract, the Azerbaijani company must supply Bulgaria with 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Azeri gas is cheaper than Russian gas, but Bulgaria currently receives only a third of that amount.
Source: Trud (14.01.2022)

If the connection with Greece does not start by July 1, we will face sanctions Bulgargaz expects the gas connection between Bulgaria and Greece to be put into operation without further delay on July 1 at the latest, so that the country can receive the quantities of gas agreed with Azerbaijan in full. This is stated in the company's position. They clarify that if this does not happen, there will be a risk that the Azerbaijani company will activate the penal clause under the Agreement and use the bank guarantee provided by Bulgargaz and BEH in a significant amount. We present the whole position: "Regarding the agreements on receiving Azerbaijani gas on a temporary alternative gas pipeline in Greece, which are discussed in public, Bulgargaz considers it necessary to inform the public as follows: After the start date of deliveries from Azerbaijan ( 31.12.2020) the agreed supply route, the gas connection Greece - Bulgaria (IGB gas pipeline), was not built, Bulgargaz was put in a position not only unable to receive gas under the Agreement, but also to pay sanctions under penal clause. Bulgargaz had no choice but to negotiate with the Azerbaijani side and seek the best possible interim solution.
Source: Banker (17.01.2022)

Bulgargaz is currently offering 14% cheaper gas for February Bulgargaz proposes to the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission to approve a 14.3% lower price of natural gas for February compared to January. However, this is not the final decision of the public provider, which will continue to monitor European prices and on the first day of next month will offer the final price. During today's open meeting of the Energy and Energy Council of the EWRC, the executive director of Bulgargaz Nikolay Pavlov predicts that if there are no significant changes by the end of the month, the price of European gas markets may reach 18%. At the meeting, the Chairman of the EWRC Ivan Ivanov stated that the regulator accepts the presented data and comments as an opinion of the entire management of the gas company, which participates in the open meeting. Bulgargaz EAD has received confirmations from Gazprom Export and the Azerbaijani supplier that the contractual obligations for the supply of natural gas will be fulfilled in the respective volumes. In the gas storage in Chiren, 100% of the planned quantities of natural gas are pumped, which are drawn according to an approved plan, said Nikolay Pavlov. As for the calculations announced by the Ministry of Energy, indicating the possibility of a significantly lower price for January, Bulgargaz has no information on this issue.
Source: economic.bg (27.01.2022)

The entire board of Bulgargaz was fired on Friday On Friday, the board of directors of the Bulgarian Energy Holding released the entire board of directors of Bulgargaz. Despite the late hour and the end of the working day, the documents were submitted for registration in the Commercial Register. The executive director of the gas company Nikolay Angelov Pavlov and the other members of the board were released. For more than a month, there has been a struggle in the gas industry, which the Minister of Energy Alexander Nikolov has joined, according to whom not everything possible was done to take all quantities of Azeri gas on an alternative route to the unbuilt gas connection with Greece.
Source: 24 chasa (31.01.2022)

EWRC approved the price of natural gas by almost 18% lower than the previous one The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) adopted a decision of approving the price of natural gas proposed by Bulgargaz on February 1, 2022, in the amount of BGN 109.88 / MWh (excluding access prices, transmission, excise and VAT), announced by the regulator. For the previous month of January, the price approved by the Commission was BGN 133.41 / MWh, ie the decrease is by 17.64%. The price officially offered by Bulgargaz this morning has been updated with the market indices of European gas hubs as of January 31 and the average monthly exchange rate for converting the euro into ECB dollars in January 2022, the EWRC said. The updated price application of the public supplier also takes into account the quantities of natural gas under the exemption program, under contracts with licensees, as well as with customers at freely negotiated prices. The decision of the EWRC was adopted in accordance with the terms of the contract between Bulgargaz and OOO Gazprom Export, the terms of the contract with the Azerbaijani company and the agreements to it, the energy regulator added.
Source: money.bg (02.02.2022)

Bulgargaz already has a new board, but heads of key directorates have left Bulgargaz has an officially new board after it was entered in the Commercial Register. Meanwhile, the company has been vacated by key heads of directorates. The legal, commercial, financial directors of the state-owned company have resigned. This happened on Wednesday, the day before the new board was registered. The quotations of futures transactions on the Dutch stock exchange TTF in recent days are 76-78 euros per megawatt-hour, if they remain, gas from March may fall by at least another 15%. The new executive director of Bulgargaz is Lyudmil Yotsov, who comes from the Bulgarian branch of the Swiss MET Energy, which trades in gas and electricity. Until 2015, he was the financial director of the state-owned gas company. The chairman of the board is the economist Ivan Topchiiski.
Source: 24 chasa (04.02.2022)

Bulgargaz may have a cash deficit of BGN 250 million, the new Board of Directors of the company predicts The new Board of Directors of Bulgargaz has received information that as of February 3, the company's bank accounts have only BGN 640,000 and BGN 51.730 million of overdrafts from various banks have been utilized. This is stated in a press release of Bulgargaz. At the same time, the estimated payments for February amount to BGN 650 million, and the expected cash inflows are approximately BGN 400 million - ie. a cash deficit of BGN 250 million is forecast, which the new Board of Directors of Bulgargaz must provide as soon as possible in order to be able to pay for the supply of natural gas under contracts with the Russian and Azerbaijani suppliers, and also to pay the liabilities to the budget for VAT (approximately BGN 100 million) and excise duty. The receivables of Bulgargaz from Toplofikacia Sofia as of February 7 amount to BGN 167 million, and from TPP Varna to about BGN 35.5 million.
Source: BTA (09.02.2022)

The underground gas storage in Chiren is 25.97 percent full The volume of stored natural gas in the underground gas storage facility in Chiren (UGS Chiren) is 25.97 percent as of February 8, according to data from the Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory. There are currently 1.5099 terawatt hours of natural gas in the UGS Chiren. For February 8, the withdrawn volume is 30.79 gigawatt hours. Statistics also show that on January 10, 2022, the gas storage had reserves of 43.97 percent or 2.5092 terawatt hours. European underground gas storage facilities are 35.17 percent full, or 392.6196 terawatt hours of natural gas as of February 8, and the total withdrawal volume was 4463.01 gigawatt hours per day. The most complete European gas storage is in the United Kingdom - at 86.01 percent, while in the European Union the most natural gas is stored in Portugal - 79.31 percent of capacity. Austrian repositories have a total of 20.64 percent natural gas, which is the lowest occupancy rate. The gas storage facilities in the Netherlands are next with 25.05 percent.
Source: BTA (11.02.2022)

The investment market reached its usual volume at the end of 2021 The volume of concluded investment transactions in the second half of last year was EUR 221 million, thus compensating for the lower activity in the first half of the year. Thus, the business real estate market registered an annual value of EUR 240 million. This shows the latest report of the company for professional services and investment management in the field of real estate Colliers. The distribution by sectors shows that 35% of the annual volume is due to transactions with office space. They are followed by sales with construction plots (24%), industrial areas (19%), retail space (10%), hotels (9%) and others. The share of international buyers is dominant, both for the second half of the year and for the whole of 2021. These are mainly companies from Central and Western Europe. The figures show that the levels of return between July and December last year in office space shrank to 7.75%, but in commercial and industrial space remained stable - respectively 7.75% and 8.5%.
Source: Banker (17.02.2022)

Bulgaria’s Chiren Gas Storage Facility Is 21.64% Full Bulgaria’s Chiren gas storage facility is 21.64 per cent full as of February 20, according to the Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory. It is fourth from the bottom of the list of EU countries in terms of working gas volume in storage. It currently has 1.2579 TWh of natural gas. Its injection capacity is 34.10 GWh/day and the withdrawal capacity 40.38 GWh/day. Statistics shows that on January 22, 2022, Chiren was 35.05 per cent full. The European gas storage facilities hold 343.7216 TWh and are 31.06 per cent full. Portugal’s gas storage inventory is biggest, at 80.88 per cent, and Austria’s is the smallest, at 18.32 per cent. The second smallest is Croatia with 21.34 per cent followed by Belgium, 21.57 per cent, and then Chiren. Energy expert Martin Vladimirov of the Centre for the Study of Democracy commented for BTA that Europe’s gas storage inventory is at very low level, some 20 per cent less than this time last year. Because of that, there is a real risk for supplies in the month and a half that remain until the end of the hearing season in Europe, if Russia discontinues natural gas export. He, however, does not see this as a likely scenario.
Source: BTA (23.02.2022)

Bulgargaz is looking for offers for liquefied gas supply Bulgargaz has asked large liquefied gas traders operating in the region and beyond to submit bids for gas supplies in March if Gazprom Export supplies are suspended. This was said by the Minister of Energy Alexander Nikolov, commenting on the supply of the country with energy resources. At the moment, the received price proposals do not meet the requirements of Bulgargaz, so there will be no further increase in the price of consumers in Bulgaria, Nikolov added. Therefore, the lowest possible bids from existing other partners have been accepted. According to the minister, "in this way the consumption in the country is guaranteed for the coming months and a drastic increase in the price of natural gas is not allowed." Nikolov reminded that Bulgargaz's proposal to the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) is to increase the price of gas by 3.5% from March, as the changes in prices on international markets are much larger. There is no reduction in the pressure of natural gas on the routes connected to Gazprom, the energy minister noted.
Source: money.bg (07.03.2022)

The moratorium on electricity and heating prices ends on March 31 The moratorium on electricity, heating and water prices will not be extended after March 31, Finance Minister Asen Vassilev announced. He added that a mechanism is being sought for electricity tariffs for households not to rise, and for the increase in the price of heat not to be drastic, despite the record high prices of natural gas. Especially with Toplofikacia Sofia, there is a big problem with the fact that it does not pay its debts and supplies to Bulgargaz, Vassilev pointed out. "At the moment, there are no indications of reduced pressure on natural gas supplies," said the deputy prime minister, when asked if there were any signals that Russia could suspend or reduce gas supplies to Bulgaria. He admitted that in the event of a disruption in Russian gas supplies, replacement quantities will be sought from liquefied gas terminals, but they will be quite expensive.
Source: Sega (10.03.2022)

Sofia's central heating short by BGN 413 million due to gas prices Due to the unprecedentedly higher real prices compared to the forecast in the price decision of the EWRC, by the end of March 2022 Toplofikacia Sofia will have short-term uncollected revenue of BGN 413 million. This was announced at a meeting between the company's management and unions , announced by the Sofia-based company. As a result of the moratorium on heat prices and the premium that the company receives from the Security System of the Electricity System, a huge liquidity shortage is formed, increasing liabilities to Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and Bulgargaz.
Source: 24 chasa (17.03.2022)

The Greece-Bulgaria interconnector has successfully connected to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline The Greece-Bulgaria interconnector (IGB project) successfully connected to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The physical connection was completed with two gold welds connecting the Komotini gas metering station to the existing TAP infrastructure, just a few hundred meters north of the interconnector's overhead facility. This was announced by the project company ICGB. Golden weld is a weld that is not subjected to hydraulic testing, but instead undergoes thorough non-destructive testing to ensure that the weld is defect-free in accordance with applicable quality standards. The preparatory activities for the connection between the two transmission operators took several months of careful planning and cooperation between the teams of the project company ICGB and TAP. The successful connection of the infrastructure of the two energy projects is a key stage towards the completion and start of commercial operation of the interconnector, planned for this year. After the completion of the mandatory non-destructive testing of the connection, the section will be backfilled, with which all mechanical work will be considered completed.
Source: BTA (28.03.2022)

EWRC raised the price of natural gas by 25.3 percent in April The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) adopted a decision approving the price of natural gas from April 1, 2022 in the amount of BGN 142.59 per megawatt-hour (excluding prices for access, transmission, excise and VAT), the regulator announced. The price approved by the regulator is 25.3 percent higher than in March, but is significantly lower than the price of BGN 179.36 per megawatt-hour proposed in Bulgargaz's initial application. The reason for the rise in the price of natural gas is the increased uncertainty of supplies due to the threats of Russia to stop the supply of gas, the EWRC clarified. Last month, there was a serious rise in prices on European gas exchanges, and only on the day of the open meeting of the EWRC on March 30, the price rose by 15 percent. The prices of natural gas on the stock exchanges continue to be highly dependent on the course of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the regulator added. The situation is extremely dynamic, there are other events that are expected to have a direct impact on them.
Source: BTA (04.04.2022)

Bulgargaz wants another increase in the price of gas from May 1 Bulgargaz has demanded an increase in the price of gas by almost 5.3% to BGN 150.11 per megawatt-hour from May 1st. This is clear from the company's application submitted to the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC). The request has been analyzed by the working group of the regulator and will be discussed during an open meeting after Easter. However, the situation on European gas markets is so dynamic that the price can change significantly in both directions, experts say. This has already happened on the last day of March. Then the EWRC commented that the price for next month will increase by no more than 13%, but in just one day natural gas rose so sharply that the price of gas from April 1 actually increased by 25 percent. In a statement, the gas company cited gas prices delivered in May to several European markets, with trade in the range of 105-108 euros per megawatt-hour. To this price must be added the additional costs for access and transmission, Bulgargaz points out. The price offered by the company for the Bulgarian market is about 77 euros per megawatt-hour, also without fees for access and transmission to consumers, as well as without excise and VAT. In May, Bulgargaz will not draw gas from Chiren, it is clear from the report of the working group of the regulator on the price application.
Source: money.bg (21.04.2022)

Russia has suspended gas supplies to Bulgaria since April 27 From April 27, the Russian state company Gazprom will suspend gas supplies to Bulgaria. The announcement was received late last night in Bulgargaz, and no reasons for the decision of the Russians were announced. "The Bulgarian side has fully fulfilled its obligations and has made all payments required under this contract, in a timely manner, strictly and in accordance with its clauses," explained the state gas supplier. Although the country is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas, for now this will not have a critical impact on Bulgaria, as the heating season is over, namely district heating is the largest consumer of gas in our country. Other major consumers are glass and chemical plants, which could use alternative fuels such as ammonia or temporarily reduce production. The activity of Lukoil Neftochim, which uses gas in oil refining, may be a problem, but the quantities in Chiren and the import of Azeri gas will ensure its activity. Earlier in the day, it was announced that Russia was suspending supplies to Poland and possibly other "enemy countries" from the EU.
Source: Capital (27.04.2022)

Bulgargaz has chosen between 7 offers from 3 gas suppliers The state-owned company Bulgargaz has received 7 offers from 3 gas suppliers, the state-owned company said in a statement to the media, explaining how it provides the necessary quantities of natural gas after the suspension of Russian supplies to Bulgaria. Bulgargaz has announced a tender for delivery of quantities to replace the suspended deliveries, by sending inquiries to 12 traders on the market in Bulgaria and neighboring countries. Some of the invited companies informed that they were not able to submit proposals, and the selection criterion was the lowest price. At a meeting of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission last week, Bulgargaz announced that contracts with gas companies will be signed. On May 4, based on these contracts, Bulgargaz will calculate the price it will ask the regulator to approve, and the decision of the EWRC will be taken on May 10. In order to provide additional quantities in April 2022, Bulgargaz is making deals to purchase quantities on the organized stock market in the country, the company explains. Regarding the allegations that intermediaries are used, the gas company clarifies that in the current situation Bulgargaz provides alternative quantities of natural gas through supply companies, such as Gazprom Export. The company clarifies that the producers are usually separate companies from suppliers, with clearly defined activities - extraction and production, respectively trade and supply.
Source: investor.bg (03.05.2022)

Bulgargaz has offers from three gas supply companies in May On April 26, Bulgargaz submitted a written request to natural gas traders operating on the Bulgarian and regional gas markets for offers, which should include specific conditions for the supply of natural gas by the end of April and for the month of May 2022. Inquiries about supplying natural gas in volumes needed to meet consumption on the Bulgarian market after the suspension of supplies under the long-term contract with Gazprom Export were sent to 12 active traders in Bulgaria and the neighboring countries. Within the deadline for submission of bids specified by Bulgargaz and after an analysis of the submitted bids, 7 bids from three suppliers were ranked with the criterion "lowest delivery price". The ranking of the offers was done according to the conditions of Bulgargaz and until the necessary quantities are provided, in order to fulfill the binding applications submitted by the Bulgarian clients for May 2022, the company clarifies.
Source: money.bg (04.05.2022)

Bulgaria is negotiating with Egypt and the United States for liquefied natural gas Bulgaria is in advanced direct negotiations with the United States and Egypt for the supply of liquefied natural gas. This was stated by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov during the extraordinary sitting of the National Assembly on the topic of suspended gas supplies from Russia to Bulgaria. If the talks are successful, the Prime Minister hopes that the price of the total gas mix will not exceed that before the suspension of supplies from Russia. He recalled the government's motives for not accepting Gazprom's terms for paying in rubles under a two-tier scheme. "When paying in rubles, we do not know what the price of gas will be, because it depends on the dollar-ruble or euro-ruble exchange rate. If we use this currency conversion scheme, we will introduce an intermediary. By introducing an intermediary between us and Gazprom, we are introducing a party that is not under a contract. By paying, there is no guarantee that we will get our gas or, if not, whether we will get our money. The Russian side is actually saying - we are violating the contract unilaterally and your deliveries are not secure because we are importing a third party. We are talking about a clear breach of contract and wringing of hands," said Kiril Petkov. Petkov also commented that the current government has found complete dependence on Gazprom, a refusal of 70% of Azeri gas, which was 1/3 of the price of Gazprom, a pipeline for relations with Greece, which has been talked about for 10 years and which is not finished. "We are currently talking to the Azerbaijani side and their investors to negotiate the possibility of not waiting until June 30, but to receive gas in early June or even late May," he said.
Source: Sega (05.05.2022)

Overgas and Albgaz will reduce dependence on Russian gas in the Balkans Albania's Albgaz and Bulgaria's Overgas signed a memorandum of understanding in Tirana, Albania. With it, they announce their mutual intention to co-operate on projects that will diversify natural gas supplies to the Balkans, Overgas reported. The Memorandum of Understanding outlines the parameters of the countries' planned co-operation in providing natural gas from non-Russian sources through viable private sector-managed trade projects. Svetoslav Ivanov, executive director of Overgas, said the signing of the agreement was a first step in regional co-operation to diversify gas supplies to the Balkans. The agreement was signed by representatives of each country - Svetoslav Ivanov, CEO of Overgas, and Arber Avrami, CEO of Albgaz. The signing was attended by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama; Albanian Energy Minister Belinda Baluku; US Ambassador to Albania Yuri Kim; the member of the board of Overgas, Ambassador Matthew Bryza. In addition, as a 50 percent shareholder in Overgas (pending final approval by the Bulgarian government), Linden Energy was represented by Stephen Payne, the company's president; and by former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, chairman of the Linden Energy Advisory Board.
Source: expert.bg (17.05.2022)

Crazy race to transport gas through the Sidirokastro Tower for June The suspension of Russian gas supplies to Bulgaria from the end of April has led to huge interest from natural gas traders in the region for imports, which resulted in requests for capacity of the gas connection with Greece at Kulata-Sidirokastro in June. The tender of the state gas operator Bulgartransgaz for the monthly capacity of the point, which is 60,000 MWh or 6 million cubic meters, sparked requests on May 16th (Monday) for 140 percent of the transmission capacity in June. This necessitates a day later bidding for capacity with a premium of 20 percent above the price initially announced by Bulgartransgaz for transmission through the point. About 57,000 MWh of natural gas have already been agreed on Tuesday, leaving only 3,000 MWh free, according to bidders. It is not clear whether there are other companies besides the state gas supplier Bulgargaz that have retained the possibility of transporting gas through the Kulata-Sidirokastro. Bulgargaz needs the capacity to import the quantities of Azerbaijani gas that should in principle enter the country through the still unfinished gas connection Komotini-Stara Zagora. For the next month they remain in reduced volumes. The full ones - but with prices closer to the market, not the cheaper contractual tariffs, should start coming from July 1. The agreed June quantities of American liquefied gas, which Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said a few days ago said he was already traveling with the two tankers to Bulgaria, were also expected to arrive separately through the Kulata-Sidirokastro.
Source: mediapool.bg (18.05.2022)

30% of the import of liquefied gas in Greece in June comes to Bulgaria 30% of the liquefied natural gas, which will be delivered in June through the terminal on the Greek island of Revitusa, near Athens, will be destined for Bulgaria, Kathimerini newspaper writes. The publication specifies that the facility has been very busy in the last 2 months, and for the next one the expected quantities for processing are record. The reason is the suspension of Russian supplies to Bulgaria. Employees of the Greek gas company DESFA are surprised by the dynamics of the increase in orders. A year ago, they could not imagine how in June 2022, ships loaded with liquefied gas would arrive every other day at the LNG terminal in Revitusa. In April and May they are a maximum of 2 per week. The increased traffic will continue in the coming months, according to the Greek National Gas Operator (?????). The reason is the growing domestic demand for electricity in Greece, which produces most of its natural gas. The other factor for the increase is the export to Bulgaria continues, where about 30% of the liquefied natural gas arriving in Revitusa is directed. Smaller quantities also go to the Romanian market.
Source: Sega (25.05.2022)

Bulgargaz offered a 13% reduction in gas prices Bulgargaz has officially submitted to the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission its proposal for the price of natural gas for June in the amount of BGN 141.28 / MWh. It is nearly 13% lower than that of industry and district heating. The regulator is yet to consider the public provider's proposal and approve it. Obviously, this month the price of the resource will be determined retrospectively, instead of happening on the 1st, as it should happen. For May, the price was set only on the 13th, which is a huge uncertainty, who for half a month does not know what price he will pay for gas and therefore cannot price their products properly. EWRC has scheduled meetings for June 2, but the program shows that they will approve the prices of heat and electricity. There is no point for considering the price of natural gas in the agenda. We remind you that in May the regulator set a 14% higher price, which was then justified by the unilateral suspension of Gazprom's supplies to Bulgaria.
Source: economic.bg (02.06.2022)

Bulgargaz owes nearly BGN 300 million The state company Bulgargaz has drastically increased its loans by BGN 286,051,000 for 1 year, and the percentage of their increase is 10 989.28%. This shows an interim report on the activities and an interim report until March 31 of Bulgargaz. According to the document, as of December 31, 2021 the loans of the Company were BGN 2,603,000, and as of March 31, 2022 - BGN 288,654,000. The Interim Financial Statements were approved by the Board of Directors on May 17, 2022 and signed by the current Executive Director of the Company. Bulgargaz reports a net result from the sale of natural gas for the first quarter of 2022 of BGN 3 510 000, which is almost twice less than the report for the same period for 2021, because the reduction stated in the report is 3 BGN 362 000. The net cash flow from operating activities of Bulgargaz as of March 31, 2022 was negative in the amount of BGN 280 835 000, while as of March 31, 2021 it was positive - in the amount of BGN 70 797 000.
Source: Trud (06.06.2022)

Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz are planning loans of over BGN 1 billion State guarantees of over BGN 1 billion to draw cheaper loans to the state gas companies Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz are set in the draft budget update 2022. It was published by the Ministry of Finance, which in the following days will be considered by the Tripartite and the Council of Ministers before entering for discussion and adoption by parliament. Funding for energy projects of EUR 532 million is envisaged. The state gas supplier Bulgargaz plans to take out a 150m-euro loan, or about 300m levs, from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The funds will go to provide alternative quantities of blue fuel after the suspension of Russian supplies at the end of April, reads the justification of the Ministry of Finance. Details are not given, but the company recently announced its financial results for the first quarter, according to which it is at a loss of BGN 2.8 million. Separately, the debts of Toplofikacia Sofia are growing again and reach BGN 250 million, and defaults or delays by other counterparties. For the state gas operator Bulgartransgaz (BTG) it is planned to issue state guarantees for 382 million euros for three projects.
Source: mediapool.bg (07.06.2022)

EWRC gas price is almost 13% lower The Commission for Energy and Water Regulation has approved the price of natural gas for Bulgaria for the month of June. It will be 141.36 BGN / MWh and is almost 13% lower than in May. On May 31, the state gas supplier Bulgargaz submitted a request for a tariff of BGN 141.28 per mWh without VAT, transportation fees and excise duties. The main reasons for the decrease in price are the quantities of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which are included in the country's gas mix, as well as the cooling down of the gas market - in May stock prices almost returned to pre-war values?. After his visit to the United States in mid-May, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov announced that the price of natural gas in Bulgaria will start to fall from June after the start of the supply of American liquefied natural gas. It was not clear exactly how much the price of natural gas would be, but it was not announced that the pricing would be based on the American gas hub Henry Hub, where quotations are traded at significantly lower prices than on the main European TTF index. In addition, there are two tankers of 100 million cubic meters (ie - the supplier company is Cheniere), which will arrive in June. As this amount would be needed to cover the need for this month.
Source: Capital (13.06.2022)

Bulgargaz has also agreed on a liquefied gas tanker from the United States for July Bulgargaz has reserved capacity at the Greek LNG terminal Revitusa for partial cargo from an American gas tanker to deliver 62 million cubic meters to the Bulgarian market. This can roughly cover 25% of the country's needs. In addition, from the beginning of July, Bulgaria is expected to start receiving full supplies under the Azerbaijani contract, which could cover more than a third of the market needs. For the remaining quantities, Bulgargaz has announced a tender for the Balkan gas hub, which will take place on June 23rd. According to data from the platform of the Greek gas supplier DESFA (equivalent to Bulgartransgaz), the Bulgarian company will receive 650,000 mWh of natural gas, which is approximately 62 million cubic meters. They will be delivered by the tanker OAK SPIRIT (under the Bahamas flag), which holds 95 million cubic meters. Bulgargaz has claimed 65% of it. The cargo will arrive at Revitusa on July 2nd and, once regasified, will most likely be transported through the Kulata-Sidirokastro gas point so that it can enter Bulgartransgaz's network. On June 22, the tanker is on its way to the United States, where it will refuel with American fuel and then return to Europe. In this deal, it will not go through third traders to increase the price. However, it is not clear at what exact price it was bought. At the same time, Bulgagraz has announced a tender for the purchase of natural gas through the Bulgarian gas hub Balkan. It will take place on June 23 and is for 4.2 million cubic meters per day (45 thousand mWh day) in July. The quotations of the TTF Front Month July index for June 30 will be used as a reference for the price, as the starting price of the auction is -5 EUR/mWh.
Source: Capital (23.06.2022)

Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz will take out new loans The state will take over guarantees for over BGN 1 billion from Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz in order to be able to take out new cheaper loans. The deputies from the parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance wrote this in the draft for the update of the state budget for 2022. The state gas supplier plans to borrow EUR 150 million, or about BGN 300 million, to secure the supply of alternative quantities of natural gas after Russia halted supplies. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Asen Vassilev said that this is necessary because part of the amount is prepaid for deliveries from Gazprom, and the rest of the money is paid after the delivery. However, when importing liquefied natural gas, the entire quantity must be paid in advance. It is necessary to take out a new loan, because as Toplofikatsiya-Sofia already owes BGN 300 million to the gas supplier for the received fuel, but does not pay regularly and the liabilities only grow. The state gas operator Bulgartransgaz will receive state guarantees of EUR 382 million, which it will use to develop its investment projects. One of them is the expansion of Chiren UGS, which is worth EUR 285.5 million. We have already received EUR 78 million free of charge from Brussels. However, the rest of the money must be obtained by taking out a loan.
Source: Banker (29.06.2022)

32% more expensive gas in July, Bulgargaz announced The state gas supplier Bulgargaz submitted to the energy regulator an application to increase the price of natural gas in July by 32 percent or a little over BGN 186/MWh without taxes and fees. This was announced by the head of the company Lyudmil Yotsov before the temporary parliamentary committee examining the actions of the public supplier after the suspension of Russian gas to Bulgaria at the end of April. The application was not published on the website of the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation until Wednesday evening, which is once again submitted late and the price will be determined retroactively, against which the employers' organizations objected a day ago. However, the reason for this is the conclusion of short-term alternative contracts for the necessary gas quantities. "For July, the entire amount has been agreed, for August it is yet to be agreed. For October, November and December, at the moment, apart from the long-term contract with the Azeris, we currently have nothing else agreed on," admitted Yotsov. As a problem, he pointed out the increase in the liabilities of the company's customers. The debt of Toplofikatsia Sofia alone is already 272 million BGN, Yotsov said.
Source: mediapool.bg (07.07.2022)

The Commission for Energy and Water Regulation has approved the price of natural gas, as of July 1, 2022, in the amount of BGN 186.17/megawatt hour (MWh) (excluding prices for access, transmission, excise duty and VAT), KEVR reports. Earlier today, the regulator held an open meeting on the price of natural gas for July, in which the applicant "Bulgargaz" participated. After a thorough inspection of all costs for buying natural gas, the commission corrected the price proposed by Bulgargaz and reduced it by 30 cents/megawatt hour. At this price, "Bulgargaz will sell natural gas to end suppliers of natural gas and to entities that have been issued a license for the production and transmission of thermal energy. For June, the price of gas was BGN 141.36/MWh.
Source: Dnevnik (13.07.2022)

"Bulgargaz" really asked for the price of gas to increase by 60% from August The final proposed price for Bulgargaz to sell natural gas to final suppliers and to persons who have been issued a license for the production and transmission of thermal energy for August 2022 is BGN 297.89 per megawatt hour or 152 .31 euros per megawatt hour, calculated according to the fixing of the BNB (without excise duty and VAT). The proposed price is 60.01 percent higher than the effective one for July (186.17 BGN per megawatt hour). Bulgargaz adds for comparison that the prices on the European gas markets for deliveries in August 2022 exceed 171 euros per megawatt hour.
Source: 24 chasa (02.08.2022)

Bulgaria must have a plan to save about 300 million cubic meters of gas The regulation of the European Commission on the 15 percent voluntary savings of natural gas by the member countries until the end of March 2023 enters into force, which, if necessary, may turn into mandatory restrictions, but they will mainly affect business. The document was published a day earlier in the official journal of the European Union and according to it all the countries of the Community should develop national plans for gas savings. The claim is for an average 15 percent contraction from average consumption for the months of August to April over the past five years. For Bulgaria, this means reducing its gas consumption, which in the winter months is about 2 billion cubic meters, by about 300 million cubic meters. which accounts for about 1/3 of gas consumption. Chemical fertilizer plants and metallurgical plants follow. However, domestic heating with gas is not included in the savings regulation, but this does not mean that consumers cannot be urged to reduce the temperature in their homes through an information campaign and about the economic benefit of this.
Source: mediapool.bg (10.08.2022)

"Bulgargaz" announced a tender for the purchase of liquefied gas The Bulgargaz company announced a tender for the purchase of liquefied gas. The auction will be organized on August 16, Tuesday, and the deadline for submitting an offer is 12 o'clock local time, according to a message on the company's website. The amount that "Bulgargaz" wants to purchase is 550 million cubic meters. According to the invitation to interested partners, 150 million cubic meters should be delivered in October, and 200 million cubic meters each in November and December. The point of unloading is the Revitousa terminal, Greece. However, there are no guarantees that deliveries will be possible, it is clear from the invitation. "In the event that a delivery contract is signed with the selected participant/participants, it will enter into force on the condition that Bulgargaz confirms the provision of a slot for regasification and storage in the receiving terminal no later than 20.09.2022. In in the event that by the specified date "Bulgargaz" does not provide a slot for regasification and storage of LNG cargoes in the receiving terminal, the supply contract will not create obligations for the parties," it reads. A decision of the caretaker government on the case with the already agreed quantities from the "Petkov" office for 7 tankers with an American company is expected, and the deadline is August 19. Official Deputy Minister of Energy and representative of the crisis headquarters Elenko Bozhkov stated that one of the purposes of the tender is a hypothetical replacement of the quantities of the 7 tankers.
Source: Sega (11.08.2022)

The government decided to grant an 800 million BGN budget loan to the state gas company "Bulgargaz" in order for it to stabilize its financial situation and have the means to ensure supplies of blue fuel in the winter. The conclusion of the loan agreement between the Minister of Energy Rosen Hristov and the director of "Bulgargaz" Ludmil Yotsov is pending. The loan will have a 2 percent annual interest and is given for a period of 36 months - that is, three years. The money will be released in tranches as needed. The deficit in "Bulgargaz" is about BGN 1 billion, half of which, however, are unpaid bills from "Toplofikatsia Sofia" for the gas delivered to them. Fresh funds are needed by "Bulgargaz" to secure the three gas purchase tenders announced by it a day ago. One procedure is for liquefied gas delivered to the Greek terminal Revitusa for October, November and December, the other is for the same period, but with delivery to a virtual trading point in Bulgaria, and the third will take place on the Gas Hub "Balkan" exchange and is for September quantities.
Source: mediapool.bg (12.08.2022)

Natural gas rose in price by 60 percent in August The Commission for Energy and Water Regulation approved the price of natural gas for August, starting from August 1, 2022, in the amount of BGN 297.89/MWh (about EUR 152/MWh), excluding access, transmission, excise and VAT prices . At this price, "Bulgargaz" will sell natural gas to the end suppliers of natural gas and to persons who have been issued a license for the production and transmission of thermal energy. The price increase is nearly 60%. The Commission determined the price after a detailed analysis of the data and documents provided in the price application of Bulgargaz submitted on August 1. The necessary quantities of natural gas for August are provided by "Bulgargaz" and with a signed contract for the supply of liquefied natural gas /LNG/. The public supplier requested bids from natural gas traders in the region and, based on the "lowest delivery price" criterion, concluded contracts with two companies. Bulgargaz's application contains the prices of individual suppliers and the size of their quantities in the total mix. The secured quantities of blue fuel cover the commitments of the public supplier to final suppliers and heating companies, as well as the quantities under the bilateral contracts with industrial customers, the obligations under the Release Program and under the Injection Plan at the Chiren Gas Plant.
Source: Banker (15.08.2022)

"Bulgargaz" wants a new 6 percent gas price increase for September "Bulgargaz" offers a new 6 percent increase in the price of natural gas for September. Thus, the blue fuel will reach the record price of BGN 315.61 per megawatt hour without access, transmission, excise and VAT prices (about EUR 161.37 per MWh). The growth is due not only to the prices of natural gas on the European stock exchanges, but also to the growth of the American dollar, whose value increased by 2.99 percent. For August, the gas price rose by a record 60 percent and its price reached BGN 297.89 per megawatt hour. September contracts on the TTF exchange in the Netherlands were settled at around ˆ220 per megawatt hour (around BGN 430 per MWh) at the end of Monday's trading, after hitting a price peak of nearly ˆ230 (around BGN 450) earlier in the day per MWh). The gas TTF futures for the last quarter of 2022 rose in price on Monday to levels of 235 euros per megawatt hour (just under 460 leva per MWh). The futures for the first quarter of 2023 reached a level of EUR 228.50 per megawatt hour, and those for the third quarter of the following year - a level of just over EUR 201 per megawatt hour - are still priced around and over BGN 400 per megawatt hour.
Source: National radio (16.08.2022)

Denitsa Zlateva, the former deputy prime minister in the office appointed by Rumen Radev in 2017, has been appointed director of Bulgargaz. "Bulgargaz" is the contractual partner of the Russian "Gazprom", which in April stopped gas supplies to Bulgaria. This means that Zlateva would lead the negotiations with the Russian gas giant if the caretaker government resumes them. She has no professional and expert experience in energy, but in 2020 she was appointed by the then director of Bulgargaz as head of the Administrative Department. The company actually has a new board of directors, after four of the five-member board were replaced. Executive director Ludmil Yotsov and board members Angela Slavova, Anton Adamov and Stefan Voinov are released. Its chairman, Ivan Topchiiski, retains his post. The board includes Dimitar Spasov, Tatyana Petrova-Boyadzhieva and Veselin Sinabov, who worked at the state gas operator Bulgartransgaz and the private Overgaz.
Source: Dnevnik (17.08.2022)

By October 1, we are filling the storage facility in Chiren to 85% By October 1, the natural gas storage in Chiren will be 80% full, which is the requirement of the European Union, and even 85%, which will be much more than last year. This is predicted by the energy expert Vasko Nachev. According to him, the charging rate is good. "In September, however, there is always some growth in consumption and additional import quantities have to be found in order not to interfere with loading." There is enough gas on the market to continue filling normally," the expert believes. For the first time since the beginning of July, Bulgaria's gas storage is not the emptiest in Europe, according to a report on the website Economic.bg. "Chiren" is already filled to more than 55% of its capacity, and in the last month this has been happening at a faster pace compared to the average European one. Still, Bulgaria has a lot of catching up to do, as it is far from the average for the Old Continent levels of nearly 75% gas reserves. Germany e.g. achieved its goal of filling three-quarters of its natural gas pipelines in early August - two weeks ahead of schedule, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Eurore. As of August 14, gas expansion targets in Germany were a little more than 76% full, according to data cited by O?lrisse. Capacity for expansion in Europe's largest economy is around 23.3 bpd, more than one-fifth of Germany's demand of 100 bpd in 2020.
Source: Sega (18.08.2022)

Sofia can transfer "Heating" to the state The ownership of the capital's "Heating" can be transferred to the state. The deal is being discussed as debt for property. The company owes over BGN 1 billion, mainly to the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and Bulgargaz. According to unofficial information, there are negotiations between the state and the municipality on how to make the transfer. It will also be established whether the value of the assets of the company covers the debts. Such a decision must also be approved by the Metropolitan Municipal Council, which is the principal of the company. Energy Minister Rosen Hristov announced that he was starting a "large-scale restructuring of "Toplofikatsia-Sofia", without giving further details. Private investor According to sources, the goal is, after the acquisition of "Toplofikatsia" by the state and the full or partial clearing of debts, the company will be given to management of a private company. This will make it easier to attract an investor, and according to unofficial information, at the moment there was interest in the capital's heating system from an external investor. In fact, the municipality's intentions for the future of "Toplofikatsiya" are similar. In July, the local government gave the green light to the company to prepare a public tender to find an investor for the construction of new combined heat and power facilities. In return for providing the funds for their construction, this investor will operate the steam plant for 35 years. According to Mediapool sources from however, the municipality wants the transfer and the process of finding an investor from the state to s happened under a regular government. Later on Wednesday, the mayor Yordanka Fandakova announced that a working group was created with the participation of representatives of the municipality, the Ministry of Energy, BEH and "Toplofikatsia-Sofia" in which "together with the state" to find "the best solutions and to guarantee the functioning of "Heating".
Source: mediapool.bg (25.08.2022)

Translation types Text translation Source text S izpolzvanite okolo 3-3.5 mlrd. kub.m godishno, B?lgariya e sred malkite potrebiteli na gaz v Evropa. Osnovnata chast ot gorivoto obache otiva k?m golemite kompanii v tezhkata industriya i toplofikatsiite, kato samo parnoto v Sofiya konsumira okolo edna treta ot tsyaloto kolichestvo. A tova pravi v?prosnite kompanii i nai?-pot?rpevshi ot rezkiya skok v tsenite na gaza. V?preki visokite tarifi na izkriveniya pazar v momenta "Bulgargaz" ostava edinstvenata v?zmozhnost za tyakh, a izlizaneto na svobodniya pazar e prakticheski nev?zmozhna optsiya. Tezhkata industriya e sred nai?-golemite konsumatori i makar che ne za vsichki kompanii prirodniyat gaz e osnovno gorivo, efekt?t ot posk?pvaneto e znachitelen. Dvata stomanodobivni zavoda v stranata - "Stomana ind?stri" i "Promet stiil", izpolzvat elektrod?govi peshti, koito rabotyat na tok. Vsichki drugi s?or?zheniya obache sa na gaz. A nai?-pot?rpevshi ot visokite tseni se okazvat produktite s dobavena stoi?nost. "Te iziskvat dop?lnitelna obrabotka, a tezi protsesi sa na gaz", obyasni Anton Petrov, predsedatel na B?lgarskata asotsiatsiya na metalurgichnata industriya. Po dumite mu v momenta ne s?shtestvuva variant zavodite da kupuvat gaz ot pazara. "Ako govorim trezvo, v tazi izkrivena situatsiya edinstvenata v?zmozhnost e "Bulgargaz". Samo toi? ima dogovor s Azerbai?dzhan i mozhe bi s "Gazprom", koi?to e na drugi tseni ot pazarnite v momenta. Gaz?t ot Azerbai?dzhan e v p?ti-po-evtin ot tozi na pazara. Nyama t?rgovets, koi?to da ima takova predimstvo i da mozhe da pravi tak?v miks v tsenata", kategorichen e Petrov. V s?shtoto vreme golyama chast ot konkurentite po edna ili druga prichina se radvat na znachitelno po-niski tseni. V Turtsiya, koyato e osnoven proizvoditel na stomana v regiona, a i v Evropa tsenata k?m kraya na yuli e ot poryad?ka na 45-50 evro/mVtch, koeto e tri p?ti po-malko ot tazi v B?lgariya (blizo 300 lv./mVtch za avgust). "Tozi problem za nas shte ostane i mozhe da se zad?lbochi, t?i? kato Turtsiya ima v?zmozhnost da kupuva i ot "Gazprom", i ot Iran, i ot Azerbai?dzhan - vse evtini iztochnitsi", kaza Petrov. V Rum?niya tsenata za potrebitelite s?shto e chuvstvitelno po-niska zaradi v?vedeniya tam tavan, a v G?rtsiya d?rzhavata pokriva 30 evro ot tsenata. Osven tova G?rtsiya razpolaga s?s sobstveni terminali, a d?rzhavnata DESFA i dvete chastni gazovi kompanii imat dei?stvashti dogovori s "Gazprom" za tr?ben gaz, koi?to po dumite na Petrov e na mnogo niski tseni. Zaradi tazi konkurentsiya produktsiyata na b?lgarskite stomanodobivni predpriyatiya veche namalyava. "Spored men shte ima vidim spad na prodazhbite prez poslednoto trimesechie na godinata", kaza toi?. Iztsyalo na gaz obache raboti st?klarskata industriya, koeto ya pravi silno zavisima kakto ot tsenite, taka i ot redovnite dostavki. Preminavaneto na alternativni goriva s?shto e slozhna zadacha. "Zapochvame izgrazhdaneto na instalatsiya na propan-butan, v koyato investitsiyata e 1 mln. lv., no osnovniyat problem e, che dostavkata na oborudvane shte otneme 6 do 8 mesetsa. V momenta, ako spre podavaneto na gaz, nie tryabva da sprem rabota", kazakha ot zavod za proizvodstvo na domakinsko st?klo. Nad 7.9 mlrd. leva sa prikhodite na kompaniite v klasatsiyata Digitalk 101 S?d?rzhanie ot Digitalk 101 Nad 7.9 mlrd. leva sa prikhodite na kompaniite v klasatsiyata Digitalk 101 Reklama Izchisleniya na kompaniyata pokazvat, che pokupnata tsena na gaza prez avgust tazi godina e blizo 5 p?ti po-visoka ot srednata za 2021 g., kogato e bila 61 lv./mVtch. Tova e vdignalo dela na gaza v sebestoi?nostta na produktsiyata ot 20% prez minalata godina do 47% v momenta. Posk?pvaneto vliyae i kosveno - prez surovinite i materialite, koeto vodi do povishenie na obshtata sebestoi?nost ot pochti 80% prez avgust spryamo srednata za 2021 g. "Nie ne mozhem da si vdignem prodazhnite tseni s tak?v protsent, nashiyat pazar nyama da go ponese", kazakha ot druzhestvoto. Predpriyatieto prodava izdeliyata si (chashi, pepelnitsi i t.n.) predimno na restoranti i zavedeniya, koito edva prez tazi godina zapochvat da se v?zstanovyavat sled pandemiyata. I v?preki che kompaniyata chastichno veche e uvelichila tsenite si s okolo 20%, k?m momenta raboti prakticheski na zaguba. V proizvodstvoto na st?klo ne s?shtestvuva i variant?t za vremenno spirane na rabotata, zashtoto tova na praktika oznachava da se razrushi instalatsiyata. Otdelno stoi v?pros?t i kak takova prek?svane shte se otrazi na otnosheniyata s klientite. "Ot druga strana, nyama kak da ostavim st?kloto prosto da izticha i pak da se vr?shta za pretopyavane, zashtoto operativnite ni razkhodi sa visoki", kazakha ot kompaniyata. Spored tyakh edinstvenoto reshenie v tazi situatsiya e v?v Show more 4,481 / 5,000 Translation results With about 3-3.5 billion cubic meters used per year, Bulgaria is among the small consumers of gas in Europe. However, the main part of the fuel goes to the big companies in the heavy industry and heating systems, and only the steam in Sofia consumes about a third of the entire amount. And this makes the companies in question the most affected by the sharp jump in gas prices. Despite the high tariffs on the distorted market, Bulgargaz is currently the only option for them, and exiting the free market is a practically impossible option. Heavy industry is among the biggest consumers, and while natural gas is not a primary fuel for all companies, the effect of the price increase is significant. The two steel plants in the country - Steel Industry and Promet Steel - use electric arc furnaces that run on electricity. However, all other facilities are gas-fired. And the most affected by the high prices are the products with added value. "They require additional processing, and these processes are gas-powered," explained Anton Petrov, chairman of the Bulgarian Association of the Metallurgical Industry. According to him, there is currently no option for plants to buy gas from the market. "If we speak soberly, in this distorted situation, the only option is Bulgargaz. Only it has a contract with Azerbaijan and maybe with Gazprom, which has different prices than the market prices at the moment. Gas from Azerbaijan is many times cheaper than the one on the market. There is no trader who has such an advantage and can make such a price mix," Petrov is categorical. At the same time, a large number of competitors, for one reason or another, enjoy significantly lower prices. In Turkey, which is the main producer of steel in the region, as well as in Europe, the price at the end of July is around 45-50 euros/mWh, which is three times less than in Bulgaria (nearly BGN 300/mWh for August). "This problem for us will remain and may deepen, as Turkey has the opportunity to buy from Gazprom, Iran, and Azerbaijan - all cheap sources," said Petrov. In Romania, the price for consumers is also significantly lower because of the ceiling introduced there, and in Greece the state covers 30 euros of the price. In addition, Greece has its own terminals, and the state-owned DESFA and the two private gas companies have active contracts with "Gazprom" for pipeline gas, which, according to Petrov, is at very low prices. Because of this competition, the production of the Bulgarian steel companies is already decreasing. "I think there will be a visible decline in sales in the last quarter of the year," he said.
Source: Capital (26.08.2022)

The industry has no quick alternative to natural gas With about 3-3.5 billion cubic meters used per year, Bulgaria is among the small consumers of gas in Europe. The main part of the fuel goes to the big companies in the heavy industry and heating systems, and only the steam in Sofia consumes about a third of the entire amount. Despite the high tariffs on the distorted market, Bulgargaz is currently the only option for them, and exiting the free market is a practically impossible option. It is expected that the state will intervene with compensations, so that the producers can shorten the distance with the competitors in the region. Heavy industry is among the biggest consumers. The two steel plants in the country - Steel Industry and Promet Steel - use electric arc furnaces that run on electricity. However, all other facilities are gas-fired. And the most affected by the high prices are the products with added value. "They require additional processing, and these processes are gas-powered," explained Anton Petrov, chairman of the Bulgarian Association of the Metallurgical Industry. According to him, there is currently no option for plants to buy gas from the market. "If we speak soberly, in this distorted situation, the only option is Bulgargaz. Only it has a contract with Azerbaijan and maybe with Gazprom, which has different prices than the market prices at the moment. Gas from Azerbaijan is many times cheaper than the one on the market. There is no trader who has such an advantage and can make such a price mix," Petrov is categorical. At the same time, a large number of competitors, for one reason or another, enjoy significantly lower prices. In Turkey, which is the main producer of steel in the region, as well as in Europe, the price at the end of July is around 45-50 euros/mWh, which is three times less than in Bulgaria (nearly BGN 300/mWh for August). "This problem for us will remain and may deepen, as Turkey has the opportunity to buy from Gazprom, Iran, and Azerbaijan - all cheap sources," said Petrov.
Source: Capital (29.08.2022)

Gas for September will be more expensive than the stated 6% The growth of prices on the European gas exchanges also affects the value of the raw material on the Bulgarian market, and new calculations indicate that in September it will be higher than the level of BGN 315.61/MWh stated on August 11 in the energy regulator. This became clear on Tuesday during the public discussion of the application of the state gas supplier "Bulgargaz" for next month's tariff. At the moment, gas costs BGN 297.89/MWh, which would mean an increase of 6 percent for September, but due to the 17 percent rise in prices on the European markets, the increase will be greater than what was imported, but less than the levels of the gas exchanges in Europe, predicts the new executive director of "Bulgargaz" Denitsa Zlateva. The exact calculations will become clear on September 1, when "Bulgargaz" submits up-to-date data forming the price of natural gas and the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation makes its final decision. Now the discussed price of gas includes its value at the entrance to our network, the costs of "Bulgargaz" for storage of raw material in the storage in Chiren and the "public supply" component. The sources are Azeri gas, liquefied under supply contracts and quantities purchased on the Bulgarian gas exchange. It is precisely the volumes purchased at the auction of the Balkan gas hub at favorable prices that will allow the price increase for September to be below that of the European stock exchanges, it became clear from Zlatena's words. Volumes for additional injection in Chiren are also provided from the provided quantities of gas.
Source: mediapool.bg (31.08.2022)

"Bulgargaz" requests a new state loan "Bulgargaz" will request a new state loan, as it cannot repay its obligations on time. This was stated by the company's new executive director Denitsa Zlateva. By September 20, the company must pay BGN 1.36 billion to suppliers, but at the moment it does not have the entire amount, she explained to BNT. That is why negotiations are currently underway with the Ministry of Energy, and subsequently bank financing will be sought. Over BGN 399 million is currently owed by "Toplofikatsia Sofia" to "Bulgargaz", but the state company cannot stop supplying gas to the heating companies by law. Therefore, during the heating season, we do not have financial means to compensate for these unpaid obligations, explained Zlateva. Up to this point, of the total required amount of 1.36 billion, BGN 350 million has been provided by the state. The company also has its own funds, but will need additional help, explained Zlateva. "I know that there is a working group at the Council of Ministers with representatives of the Bulgarian Energy Holding and the Ministry of Energy - we must think about a cardinal and permanent solution to the natural gas problem," added the head of Bulgargaz. Yesterday, the company also requested a new increase in gas from September by 17%. According to Zlateva, this is due to the ordered quantities of blue fuel, in addition to the Azeri deliveries, which are also still at unfavorable prices due to the delay of the new gas connection with Greece. "We have two partial tankers that were contracted by the previous management of "Bulgargaz", which are at almost the stock market price, and we have an auction held at the "Balkan" Gas Hub", Denitsa Zlateva explained.
Source: Trud (01.09.2022)

EWRC confirmed gas price increase by another 19% for September The Energy and Water regulatory Commission (EWRC) approved the price of natural gas for September in the amount of BGN 353.21 per megawatt hour (MWh), excluding access, transmission, excise and VAT prices, the regulator announced. At this price, "Bulgargaz" will sell natural gas to the end suppliers of natural gas and to persons who have been issued a license for the production and transmission of thermal energy. The price increased by nearly 19% compared to August, which was BGN 297.89/MWh. EWRC determined the price after an analysis of the final proposal submitted today by "Bulgargaz". Initially, it was BGN 315.61/MWh.
Source: Sega (02.09.2022)

"Bulgargaz" EAD submitted to KEVR an application for approval of the price of natural gas for the month of October in the amount of BGN 247.96/MWh. This price is nearly 30% lower than in September. The estimated price for October meets the call of employers and trade unions for a ceiling price of gas up to BGN 250 per megawatt hour. From October 1, the Bulgaria-Greece interconnector should be operational, through which our country will finally be able to receive the cheaper Azeri gas. It will enter into the general mix, which is why heating systems and businesses will be able to benefit from a lower overall price. However, Bulgaria still does not have gas for the winter months. The caretaker government turned down 6 of the seven tankers bequeathed by the previous cabinet due to lack of regasification slots. Thus, even with a ready gas connection with Greece, the country still needs to find more than 30% of the required quantities in the winter.
Source: economy.bg (12.09.2022)

The municipal company "Toplofikatsia-Sofia" has signed a gas supply contract with the state company "Bulgargaz" for the next year. The contract comes into effect on January 1, 2023. Due to the debts of "Toplofikatsia" to "Bulgargaz" and "Bulgarian Energy Holding" (BEH) in the amount of BGN 743 million, the municipality of Stolichva will probably transfer the company to the state, and the transaction will is debt versus property. However, guarantees will be sought that the company will remain public. The state, represented by the Ministry of Energy, will look for a private investor and operator of "Toplofikatsia". At the moment, there was initial interest from "Veolia" and "Contour Global", but an invitation to participate in the upcoming tender will be sent to all large energy companies with a similar profile.
Source: mediapool.bg (13.09.2022)

"Bulgargaz" with a forecast for November - 21% cheaper gas than now "Bulgargaz" published its forecast for the price of natural gas in November, and it is BGN 278.83 per megawatt hour. The estimated price is 21% lower than the September one, which is BGN 353.21. Compared to the price proposal submitted to KEVR from October 1, however, it is 12% higher. On September 9, "Bulgargaz" submitted to the commission proposals for an October price of BGN 247.96 per megawatt hour, which is a 30 percent reduction compared to September. So after the fall in price in October, an increase in price is expected in November. The forecast for November is based on the estimated values ??of the components included in the price as of September 12. The company reports that as of this date, the prices on the European gas markets for deliveries in November are around 205 euros per megawatt hour, while the forecast for us is BGN 278.83 or 142.56 euros. The prices are exclusive of VAT, excise duty, and transport and access prices. A final proposal to approve the price of natural gas for November 2022 will be submitted to KEVR on the first day of the month, taking into account the quotations of the pricing components as of 31.10.2022.
Source: 24 chasa (13.09.2022)

"Bulgargaz" is preparing a tender for 10-year supplies of the LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis The state gas supplier "Bulgargaz" will request an additional 500 million cubic meters of annual capacity from the currently under construction liquid natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal near the Greek city of Alexandroupolis, which will increase its ability to import blue fuel from there at 1 billion cubic meters per year, after which it will announce a tender for ten years of supplies within this capacity. This was decided by the government at its regular meeting on Wednesday, which follows the agreement in principle announced at the end of August at a meeting between President Rumen Radev and the head of the project company "Gaztrade", implementing the project for the terminal, in which the Bulgarian gas operator holds 20 percent. Bulgartransgaz". Bulgargaz already has 500 million cubic meters reserved for ten years from the future facility, which is expected to become operational in early 2024. Under this capacity contract, it can request its increase, which is now to be made official . The LNG terminal has spare capacity, as 2.6 billion cubic meters of the terminal's capacity, which is 5.5 billion cubic meters per year, were reserved in the regasification capacity reservation procedure.
Source: mediapool.bg (15.09.2022)

"Bulgargaz" already has 1 billion cubic meters of capacity from the future LNG terminal near Alexandroupolis State-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz has signed an additional agreement with Gaztrade, the company building the future liquefied gas regasification terminal near the Greek city of Alexandroupolis, increasing its reserved capacity at the facility to 1 billion cubic meters per year over ten years. from commissioning, which is expected to take place in 2024. The company already had a contract to use 500 million cubic meters per year from the terminal, but decided to increase it as part of its efforts to diversify and replace Russian natural gas, whose supplies "Gazprom" unilaterally terminated at the end of April. According to the caretaker government's strategy, this reserved capacity will serve as the basis for the announcement of a tender for supplies in such quantities for ten years under conditions that refer to the prices of generally accepted liquid gas hubs in the world. Whether this cabinet will hold the auction or the next regular one is not clear and depends on the results of early parliamentary elections in less than two weeks. The total capacity of the terminal near Alexandroupolis is 5.5 billion cubic meters per year. "Gaztrade", in which 20 projects have the Bulgarian gas operator "Bulgartransgaz", plans to build a second floating platform for storage and regasification near the Greek city.
Source: mediapool.bg (20.09.2022)

As of October 1, free capacity from the gas connection with Greece will be auctioned With the commissioning of the gas connection between Bulgaria and Greece on October 1, its operator will start offering the still unreserved capacity from the facility to two stock exchanges, the project company announced on Tuesday "ICGB". A little over half of the capacity of the gas pipeline from Komotini to Stara Zagora, which is 3 billion cubic meters per year, has been preserved. For 1,570 billion cubic meters, there are contracts concluded for up to 25 years. 1 billion cubic meters of these quantities fall to the state gas supplier "Bulgargaz" for its supplies from the Azeri field "Shah Deniz II". The remaining available capacity will be offered through auctions on two of the leading capacity reservation platforms – PRISMA and RBP. The interconnector operator has already announced that it has signed contracts with both platforms. All auctions will be conducted according to the Auction Calendar of the European Network of Transmission System Operators. For the interconnection point of the gas pipeline with the Greek network of DESFA (DESFA) and the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP) in Komotini, two products will be offered on the PRISMA platform - input fixed capacity (in the forward direction) and output interruptible capacity (in the reverse direction). .
Source: mediapool.bg (21.09.2022)

EWRC asks the capital's steam plan to pay its gas debt Another inspection by the Energy and Water regulatory Commission in "Toplofikatsia Sofia" "discovered" that the steam company is accumulating debts due to the drastic increase in the price of gas and the increased costs of harmful emissions. The audit was carried out after in July the state supplier Bulgargaz threatened to stop gas for the capital's heating system due to overdue debts of BGN 328 million. In the meantime, the municipality, which is the owner of the heating company, and the state agreed on a partial repayment of the heating debts to "Bulgargaz" and "Bulgarian Energy Holding". The threat to cut off gas from September 1 was not carried out. The now announced results of the EWRC inspection of "Toplofikatsia Sofia" did not reveal any violations in the company. It is indicated that the accumulation of debt to "Bulgargaz" is a consequence of the "unprecedented price growth during the past price period, as well as some regulatory factors". "The reason for the company not being able to cover this debt is the significantly increased costs of purchasing natural gas and greenhouse gas emissions, although during the period higher revenues were received from exchange sales of electricity, including revenues from off-license activities (share distribution, proceeds from legal claims, provision of services, etc.)", reports the commission. The regulator asks "Toplofikatsia Sofia" to give a schedule for repaying the obligations to "Bulgargaz" by September 30 and to inform about "all the actions it takes to improve its financial situation".
Source: mediapool.bg (23.09.2022)

"Bulgargaz" announced a quick tender for pipeline gas for 14 months The state gas supplier "Bulgargaz" has announced another tender for the supply of natural gas – this time for pipelines and with a term from November 2022 to the end of 2023. Requests will be accepted for at least 3 million MWh or more than 284 million cubic meters m for the entire period of 14 months. At the moment, the company is holding four tenders for the supply of liquefied gas - for November and December 2022, for 2023 and for the period from 2024 to 2034, and the day before the director of "bulgargaz" Denitsa Zlateva stated that there is a lot to the procedures great interest from companies from Europe, USA and China. Initial bids for the delivery of piped gas will be accepted until 10pm on October 4, which is an extremely short deadline. In reality, applicants will have only three working days to prepare their proposals. The company announces the new tender for pipeline gas in addition to the three for liquefied gas for the same 14 months, because the volumes and agreed quantities of Azeri gas are not sufficient to cover the needs of the country, explained executive director Denitsa Zlateva.
Source: mediapool.bg (30.09.2022)

The price of natural gas for October is BGN 233.36, BGN 120 lower than in September State Energy Regulatory Commission confirmed the price of natural gas for October at BGN 233.36 per megawatt hour. A key factor for the BGN 120 reduction in price is the start of supplies on the gas interconnector "Bulgaria - Greece" - IGB. For the previous month of September, the price approved by the regulator was BGN 353.21/mwh, which means that the price of natural gas for October is lower by nearly 34%. The Commission determined the price after an analysis of the data and documents submitted by Bulgargaz EAD, in which the prices of the individual suppliers and the amount of their quantities in the total mix are specified. The regulator found that the claimed estimated quantities of natural gas for the domestic market were provided by three different supply sources. For the first time, the commission included in the price mix the entire amount of natural gas under the long-term contract with Azerbaijan, at prices stipulated in the contract, which is delivered from today through the launched "Bulgaria-Greece" interconnector - IGB.
Source: 24 chasa (03.10.2022)

The interconnector with Greece is now operational. Gas became cheaper by 34% The gas connection to Greece is finally operational. This officially happened at an international meeting in Sofia on October 1, in which the President Rumen Radev, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Serbia and North Macedonia - Ilham Aliyev, Aleksandar Vucic and Stevo Pendarovski, as well as Minister - the presidents of Greece and Romania - Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Nicolae Chouka. On the first working day of the IGB, more than 29,171 mWh are expected to enter the gas pipeline, and for the entire month of October, the forecast is for 888,801 mWh, which is about a third of the country's needs.
Source: Capital (03.10.2022)

"Toplofikatsia Sofia" has repaid BGN 543 million gas debt From January 1 to September 28, Toplofikatsia Sofia paid overdue debts to Bulgargaz for over BGN 543 million. As of August 31, Toplofikatsia Sofia's current obligations to the public gas supplier amounted to over BGN 349 million. states in a letter from the management of "Toplofikatsia Sofia" to KEVR in response to the mandatory instructions given by the regulator, due to its high indebtedness for natural gas deliveries. According to them, the company had to indicate the amount of paid arrears to "Bulgargaz" EAD as of 20 August, the amount of current liabilities to the public supplier as of August 31, as well as whether deliveries of natural gas for the production of heat and electricity are planned. "Toplofikatsia Sofia" should have also provided a schedule for repaying the liabilities to "Bulgargaz", as well and to inform the Commission about all actions taken to improve its financial situation. "Toplofikatsia Sofia" has prepared three estimated and the scenario for the monthly payments and the dynamics of the debt to "Bulgargaz" until the end of the regulatory period - June 2023. They are based on the estimated incoming and outgoing cash flows.
Source: 24 chasa (05.10.2022)

Bulgargaz" ensured the supply of liquefied gas for November As a result of a tender procedure for the supply of liquefied natural gas for November, "Bulgargaz" EAD secured all the necessary quantities for its customers, the public supplier announced. At the first stage of the tender, a preliminary selection of 13 interested companies was carried out, 10 of which met the conditions and were invited to submit binding offers. By the deadline specified in the procedure, offers were received from 8 companies from Europe, Asia and the USA, Bulgargaz said. The ranking was carried out in accordance with the accepted methodology for evaluating offers. In compliance with the conditions of the tender procedure, two suppliers of liquefied natural gas with secured slots for regasification and storage at the Revitusa terminal were selected - Mytilineos S.A. and DEPA Commercial S.A., the Bulgarian gas company specifies . Within the framework of the conducted procedure, extremely competitive prices were achieved, which will be reflected in the price of natural gas proposed by Bulgargaz for November, "Bulgargaz" points out.
Source: 24 chasa (11.10.2022)

"Bulgargaz" offered to reduce gas prices by nearly 30% in November "Bulgargaz" submitted to the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation an application for approval of the price for the month of November in the amount of BGN 166 and 14 cents. The proposed price is approximately two times lower than the prices of European gas hubs. This significant difference is due to the extremely competitive prices received within the framework of the tender procedure for the supply of natural gas carried out by "Bulgargaz", as well as the possibility to supply the full Azeri quantities.
Source: profit.bg (12.10.2022)

The tenders for gas supplies have been extended until the end of 2023. "Bulgargaz" has extended the terms for choosing the companies that will supply gas for the months of November this year until the end of 2023, but the bids submitted in the individual tenders exceed the requested quantities. In mid-September, the state company announced four procedures for supplies of liquefied gas, with the one in November completed. For December, 2 million MWh or 190 million cubic meters are sought, for next year - 16 million MWh or 1.5 billion cubic meters, and for the period 2024-2034 - 1 billion cubic meters per year. A little later, the company also launched a tender for the supply of piped gas from November this year until the end of 2023 for at least 3 million MWh or over 284 million cubic meters for the entire period of 14 months. There is already a preferred candidate for the 14-month pipeline gas supply contract, but the procedure has not been completed. The December LNG demand is being negotiated with three bidders who have regasification slots, and the winners are expected to be announced. Bids have also been submitted for liquefied gas in 2023, but their consideration has been postponed until the end of the tender for regasification capacity at the Greek terminal Revitusa, in which the Bulgarian supplier will participate. It was supposed to take place on October 18, but the Greek gas transmission operator DESFA (DESFA) postponed it to October 31. The reason is a decision by the Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) to revise the DESFA Network Code. For this reason, Bulgargaz plans to announce on November 7 what regasification slots it has managed to win at the Revitusa terminal for the whole of 2023.
Source: mediapool.bg (27.10.2022)

"Bulgargaz" offers: Even cheaper gas for November, with a 45% lower price "Bulgargaz" will offer a 45% lower gas price at the beginning of November, and compared to the record high price in September of BGN 353.21, the reduction is 64%. The price is expected to be slightly below BGN 130 because of - the low quotations on the Dutch TTF exchange and the big discounts (from 30 to 50 euros) that the companies offered in the November auction. 300 million cubic meters of gas have already been pumped into the storage facility in Chiren, which is 88% of its capacity.
Source: 24 chasa (31.10.2022)

The price of gas has fallen by 47% since November 1 The Commission for Energy and Water Regulation approved the price of natural gas for November in the amount of BGN 123.01 per megawatt-hour without access, transmission, excise and VAT prices. This is the lowest price since March. At this price, "Bulgargaz" will sell natural gas to final suppliers and to persons who have been issued a license for the production and transmission of thermal energy. For the previous month of October, the price approved by the regulator was BGN 233.36 per MWh, which means that for November natural gas became cheaper by 47%.
Source: 24 chasa (02.11.2022)

Bulgargaz has won two slots at the liquefied gas terminal at Revitusa Island for 2023. Bulgargaz won two slots in the second tender for the negotiation and regasification of the liquefied gas terminal at Revitusa Island. The Greek operator DESFA is conducting tenders for the slots at the LNG terminal for 2023, announced the executive director of Bulgargaz Denitsa Zlateva. For the first time, the Bulgarian gas company participated in an auction for liquefied natural gas slots. The Bulgarian company participates in the auction for reserving slots at the terminal in order to help itself in the auctions for liquefied gas, by not setting a condition for the companies that want to supply gas to have reserved slots as well, which has an impact on the offered prices. A few days ago, Zlateva stated that "Bulgargaz" is negotiating with Turkey for the supply of liquefied gas to the terminals there, it will play in auctions and the terminals in Italy, and the supply may be via the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline. At the first auction on October 31, the Bulgarian company did not qualify, but now it managed to win two slots - one large, for 1 million megawatt hours, and one small - for 500,000.
Source: 24 chasa (03.11.2022)

EBRD restricts us: Looking for BGN 300 million state-guaranteed gas loan from elsewhere Bulgargaz will refuse to take out a state-guaranteed loan for 150 million euros or about BGN 300 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as announced when such a guarantee was included in the state budget update in 2022 d. The reason is that the EBRD was not flexible enough and imposed restrictions on the use of the funds provided by it. Instead, it will announce a procedure for choosing a Bulgarian or foreign bank that will grant a sufficiently flexible loan, and the parliament will be asked to transfer part of the budget-guaranteed amount from this for the next year. This was announced by the executive director of Bulgargaz, Denitsa Zlateva. The state guarantee for Bulgargaz was included in the budget update, with the finance ministry's justification stating that the ˆ150m would go towards providing alternative quantities of the blue fuel after Russian supplies were cut off at the end of April. It said that the loan would be from the EBRD, but this is not explicitly stated in the legal texts, which means that it is valid for any financial institution.
Source: mediapool.bg (10.11.2022)

"Bulgargaz" offers a 19% increase in the price of natural gas for December "Bulgargaz" submitted to the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) an application for approval of the price for December. The price, in the amount of BGN 145.87 per megawatt hour (MWh) or EUR 74.5/MWh, calculated according to the BNB fixing (without prices for access, transmission, excise duty and VAT), was announced by the public supplier. KEVR confirmed the price of natural gas for November in the amount of BGN 123.01/MWh (without prices for access, transmission, excise duty and VAT). This means that the price offered to date for the next month will be 18.58 percent higher than the current one. The price offered by Bulgargaz is more than 30 percent lower than the prices of gas hubs in Europe for delivery in December, which are approximately 113 EUR/MWh, the company points out.
Source: 24 chasa (11.11.2022)

"Bulgargaz" has a loss of BGN 28 million at the end of September "Bulgargaz" is at a loss of BGN 28 million in the first nine months of 2022. For comparison, last year, at times lower prices, the gas supplier made a profit of BGN 33 million. Due to the sharp increase in the price of natural gas, "Bulgargaz" registered record revenues in its history - over BGN 4.4 billion for the nine months with an expectation of almost BGN 6 billion at the end of the year. This is more than a quadruple growth within the framework, since at the end of September 2021, receipts were only BGN 1.1 billion. There is no change in the quantities that have been purchased, nor in those that have been sold. They continue to be around 25-26 million mWh, which is equal to 2.5 billion m3, or 80% of all consumption in Bulgaria. The company's trade receivables reach BGN 1.2 billion - 30% of revenues. Of these, over BGN 500 million have been accumulated by "Toplofikatsia Sofia", and a large part is in arrears. What is more unpleasant is that these debts will continue to grow, because "Bulgargaz" will continue to sell them gas that they will not pay. The gas supplier mentions that the debt of Sofia district heating is expected to grow by 150-200 million BGN every month this winter, which is additional liabilities of almost a billion.
Source: Capital (15.11.2022)

1.5 billion BGN debts await "Toplofikatsia-Sofia" at the end of the season The debts of "Toplofikatsia-Sofia" are expected to exceed BGN 1.5 billion at the end of the heating season. By the end of the heating season, the liabilities to Bulgargaz will reach BGN 750 million, and to the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) - over BGN 800 million. With these calculations, based on the estimated price of gas, the municipal company will owe over BGN 1.5 billion at the end of the season.
Source: news.bg (01.12.2022)

25 Bulgarian companies among the largest in Europe 25 Bulgarian companies are among the largest in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of revenues and profits, according to the ranking for 2021 of the analysts from "Cofas". The Bulgarian energy holding is in 15th place, and the consolidated revenues for 2021 are EUR 5.7 billion. The energy companies also include the coal plants "Contour Global Maritsa-East 3" and "Maritsa-East 2", NPP "Kozloduy", "Bulgargaz", "Energo-Pro Varna". "Eurohold" also enters the top 500 of Central and Eastern Europe after the purchase of CEZ's business in our country. From the telecommunications business, "A1 Bulgaria" is included in the ranking. Among the companies included for the first year are "Advance Properties" and "Huveproject". Another representative of the pharmaceutical business in the ranking - a manufacturer of medicines for humans, is "Sopharma". The oil business is represented by Lukoil Bulgaria, Lukoil Neftohim Burgas, Astra Bioplant and Saksa. "Aurubis Bulgaria" is also in the top 500, occupying a relatively leading place in the ranking. The executive director is Tim Kurth, and the metal mining company is owned by the German "Aurubis".
Source: 24 chasa (02.12.2022)

Gas for December 18.8% more expensive due to Chiren and higher consumption The Commission for Energy and Water Regulation approved the price of natural gas for December in the amount of BGN 146.09 per megawatt hour excluding access, transmission, excise and VAT prices. It is 18.8% more expensive than in November, when it cost BGN 123.01. At the price approved by the regulator, Bulgargaz will sell natural gas to final suppliers and district heating companies.
Source: 24 chasa (02.12.2022)

The Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (KEVR) confirmed the price for natural gas for December - it is BGN 146 and 9 cents per megawatt hour, which is about 19% more. This value does not include fees (for access, transfer) and levies (excise duty and VAT). At this price, "Bulgargaz" EAD will sell natural gas to final suppliers and to persons who have been issued a license for the production and transmission of thermal energy. The reason for the price increase is the high prices of natural gas pumped into the storage in Chiren and the increased consumption during the heating season, the energy regulator specifies.
Source: offnews.bg (06.12.2022)