15.5 million megawatt hours of gas transported through the interconnector with Greece for 2023. More than 15.5 million megawatt hours (MWh) of natural gas will be transported through the Greece-Bulgaria interconnection in 2023, the ICGB company, which operates the gas pipeline, announced. It celebrated its first anniversary. The gas pipeline operates with a capacity of 3 billion cubic meters per year, providing about half of Bulgaria's needs for domestic consumption and enabling the transfer of gas to other countries in the region. Over 20 new users were registered last year. By building additional infrastructure in Kardzhali, the gas connection now provides access to a new diversified source of natural gas for both local businesses and domestic consumers, adds ICGB. In 2023, ICGB held annual tenders for interconnector capacity, which secured over 80% reserved capacity for the new gas year. Appreciating the growing market interest in this new supply route, ICGB has initiated an interconnector capacity increase procedure to expand the interconnector's technical capacity to 5 billion cubic meters per year. The binding phase of the process is planned for the summer of 2024. Through the Greece-Bulgaria gas connection, a new route for secure supplies of natural gas to Moldova and Ukraine via the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline was provided, which contributed to improving Europe's energy connectivity and diversification of sources. With this aim, "ICGB" also initiated the idea of expanding the Vertical Gas Corridor to Moldova and Ukraine with the support of transmission system operators in the neighboring countries, since the development of energy infrastructure in sync is of key importance for a more sustainable and secure energy sector.
Source: Trud (05.01.2024)

More than 15.5 million MWh have been transferred through the gas connection with Greece for 2023 Over 15.5 million MWh have been transported on the IGB gas interconnection between Greece and Bulgaria in 2023. The project celebrated its first anniversary and successfully achieved 365 days of operation without interruption of activities. The gas pipeline operates with a capacity of 3 billion cubic meters per year, providing about half of Bulgaria's needs for domestic consumption and enabling the transfer of gas to other countries in the region. In the past year, more than 20 new users of the IGV network were registered. By building additional infrastructure in Kardzhali, IGB is now providing access to a new, diversified source of natural gas for both local businesses and domestic consumers. In 2023, the ICGB held annual interconnector capacity auctions for the first time, which secured over 80% reserved capacity for the new gas year. Through semi-annual capacity tenders, the company enabled the capacity to be preserved at the interconnection point with the Greek transmission network. This strategic step will allow traders to access volumes from the Alexandroupolis LNG terminal as soon as it is commissioned. Appreciating the growing market interest in this new supply route, the ICGB has initiated an interconnector capacity increase procedure to expand the technical capacity of the IGB to 5 bcm per year. The binding phase of the process is planned for the summer of 2024. The IGB project (Greece-Bulgaria Intersystem Gas Connection) is being implemented by the mixed investment company "ICI GB" AD, registered in Bulgaria in 2011 with shareholders BEH EAD (50% ) and IGI Poseidon (50%). The joint shareholder IGI Poseidon is a company registered in Greece, with shareholders the Greek company DEPA International Projects S.A. (50%) and the Italian energy group Edison S.p.A (50%). ICGB JSC is the owner of the IGB gas pipeline, financing its implementation, distributing its transmission capacity and receiving revenues from the transmission of natural gas. The IGB gas pipeline is connected to the Greek national gas transmission system (DESFA S.A.) and the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline (TAP AG) in the area of Komotini (Greece), and to the Bulgarian gas transmission system (Bulgartransgaz EAD) in the area of Stara Zagora. The total length of the gas pipeline is 182 km, the diameter of the pipe - 32'' - and a design capacity of up to 3 billion m3/year. in the direction of Greece-Bulgaria. Depending on the market interest in using a larger capacity and the possibilities of the neighboring gas transmission systems, the capacity is designed to increase to 5 billion m3/year. with additional construction of a compressor station. offnews.bg
Source: Other (08.01.2024)

European gas storage facilities remain at 84.88% full European gas storage facilities as of January 6 remain full to a fairly high level of 84.88% or 967.2410 TWh at an average blue fuel withdrawal rate of 0.30 pp, according to data from the Association of European Gas Storage Operators (GIE). In particular, the gas storage facility in Bulgaria - PGH Chiren also remains filled to the rather high volume of 4.8066 TWh or 81.61% at an average blue fuel withdrawal rate of 0.22 p.p. As for the flow of LNG from European terminals to the EU gas transport system, they decreased to 311.1 million cubic meters for the gas day of January 5 compared to the previous one, when the recorded flows were in the order of 319 million cubic meters. the high level of the week remains that of January 1 – 333.3 million cubic meters. The flow of blue fuel from LNG terminals to the gas transportation infrastructure in December fell to 11.4 billion cubic meters from 11.85 billion cubic meters in November . In total, in 2023, Europe imported a record amount of liquefied natural gas of about 131.8 billion cubic meters.
Source: 3e-news (09.01.2024)

More countries joined the Vertical corridor for liquefied gas through Bulgaria Ukraine, Moldova and Slovakia officially joined the Vertical Gas Corridor on Friday, which provides for the transfer of additional quantities of liquefied natural gas through the territory of Bulgaria. So far, the partners in the project have been Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, whose gas operators even conducted a non-binding market test among traders last summer for their interest in increasing the capacity of existing gas connections between the countries. The test of the Bulgarian operators "Bulgartransgaz" and "ICGB" showed that the suppliers would book double the existing capacity at the points of entry into the country at the border with Greece and at the exit to Romania. According to the new memorandum of accession of the three new participants, now signed in Athens, in July 2024 the gas operators of all countries must simultaneously conduct a binding market test for the allocation of capacity at the respective interconnection points. This will be a year earlier than the project schedule so far planned, and the results of the tenders, which should end with contracts for specific capacity reservations, will serve to make the specific decisions by how much to increase the capacities, to evaluate the investment of each from the participants and to seek the funding. The project participants expect to receive free co-financing from the European Commission. The forecasts are that the Vertical Gas Corridor will ensure the transfer of a total of about 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year through Bulgaria through the Bulgartransgaz network, including through the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline released by Gazprom, as well as through the Komotini-Stara Zagora gas pipeline, which is of the Bulgarian-Greek-Italian company ICGB.
Source: mediapool.bg (22.01.2024)

Bulgartransgaz and Botash signed an interconnection agreement "Bulgartransgaz" EAD and the operator of the gas transmission system of Turkey "Botash" have signed an operational Interconnection Agreement for the Strandja/Malkoclar point. The agreement specifies the technical conditions, including the minimum transmission pressure and the quality characteristics of the natural gas, as well as the applicable procedures of both parties of the Strandzha/Malkochlar point. Based on the conditions agreed in the document, the technical capacity of the Strandzha/Malkochlar point in the direction of Turkey-Bulgaria in the gas transmission network of Bulgartransgaz EAD is set at 117,677,153 kWh/d, and in the direction of Bulgaria -Turkey - 504,138,541 kWh/d.
Source: actualno.com (26.01.2024)

The US will finance the hydrogen production project in Chiren The US Trade and Development Agency has begun a procedure to secure funding for the feasibility study on the pilot project for the production and use of green hydrogen at the facilities of the Chiren underground gas storage facility. This was confirmed by Karl Kress, regional director for the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Asia of the US Trade and Development Agency (The U.S. Trade and Development Agency) during a meeting with the executive director of Bulgartransgaz Vladimir Malinov in Washington. The state-owned Bulgartransgaz, which is the operator of the gas storage facility in Chiren, announced in September that it was starting to develop such a project. This will be done in partnership with "Glavbolgarstroy Holding", whose companies are involved in the ongoing expansion of the gas storage facility, with the American companies Solar Turbines Inc. and Honeywell, which are subcontractors in this project, as well as Italy's Pietro Fiorentini - all of them leading developers and suppliers of technologies and in the field of production and use of hydrogen fuel. The first step for implementation is a feasibility study that will determine the technical configuration and structure of the public-private partnership for its implementation. The US Trade and Development Agency specializes in financing key projects and collaborates with companies to develop sustainable infrastructure and stimulate economic development in partner countries, the announcement states. The feasibility study is eligible for funding in its full volume. Once an internal approval procedure within the agency is completed, a grant agreement will be signed.
Source: Sega (16.02.2024)

Gas in March cheaper by 13%. Azeri supplies and from Revitusa, but without Alexandroupolis The state gas supplier "Bulgargaz" submitted an application for a natural gas price in March, which is slightly more than 13 percent lower than that of February. The quantities include deliveries under the Azeri contract, liquefied gas provided by France's Total Energy at the Greek terminal Revitusa, residual that the same company transported last month to a facility in Turkey and was not fully imported under the agreement with BOTAS, as well as quantities from the gas reserves in Chiren. However, deliveries to the country from the new Greek liquefied gas regasification terminal near Alexandroupolis, where "Bulgargaz" has reserved 1 billion cubic meters of annual capacity, are not included for March. The owner of the facility, in which the Bulgarian gas operator Bulgartransgaz has a 20 percent stake, had announced that the terminal would enter into operation at the beginning of March. However, it turns out that this will happen in April, and moreover, Bulgargaz still has not signed the contract with the preferred supplier of liquefied gas for the next ten years of Alexandroupolis. The tender for the provision of these 1 billion cubic meters per year dragged on for almost a year, a supplier was selected already in the fall, there is still no contract, and the answer of "Bulgargaz" is that the clauses are still being cleared. According to the application to the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (KEVR), the price of gas in the coming month should be BGN 62.39/MWh without taxes and fees, while at the moment the value for gas supply companies, heating systems and enterprises is BGN 71.08/MWh without taxes and fees.
Source: mediapool.bg (20.02.2024)

"Bulgartransgaz" begins work on a vertical gas corridor The state company "Bulgartransgaz" has announced that it will conduct a public procurement on the so-called vertical gas corridor. The project aims to increase the natural gas transmission capacity at the interconnection points Kulata/Sidirokastro in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria and Negru Voda/Kardam in the direction from Bulgaria to Romania. The expansion of the gas transmission infrastructure of "Bulgartransgaz" EAD will allow achieving the goals of the vertical corridor for diversification and improving the security of supplies by transferring additional quantities of natural gas from the south to the north. The first order under the project will be for investment design and supply of the necessary materials and equipment for capacity expansion at both points. It has three separate positions, and its estimated value is BGN 586,669,410 without VAT. The vertical gas corridor can fulfill both goals - simultaneously providing alternative quantities for these affected markets (mainly through LNG) and, secondly, utilization of the Ukrainian system. The company is considering the options for liquefied natural gas from Greece and Turkey through the network of "Bulgartransgaz", ICGB, and from there to the network of Romania and Moldova to Ukraine.
Source: Dnevnik (21.03.2024)

The revenues from "Turkish Stream" through Bulgaria are half of the investment in it The state company "Bulgartransgaz" received a total of BGN 1.3 billion in revenue from the launch of "Turkey Stream" through Bulgaria - from January 1, 2022, almost until the end of March 2024. At that time, the company had expenses for maintaining the route from BGN 44 million. The project has no branches on Bulgarian territory and aims to transit Russian gas to Serbia, Hungary and other countries, bypassing Ukraine. The route was built with money from the Bulgarian budget, with the project costing nearly BGN 3 billion. From the cited data, it can be seen that at the moment almost half of this investment has been paid. For 2022, the revenues were almost BGN 376 million. And in 2021, Gazprom paid BGN 683 million in advance for transit fees until the end of June 2023.
Source: mediapool.bg (03.04.2024)

"Bulgartransgaz" has a new executive director Kiril Ravnachki is the new executive director of Bulgartransgaz EAD. The decision is of the Management Board and was approved by the Supervisory Board of the company on April 9. The change became necessary after the previous head of the company, Vladimir Malinov, became acting Minister of Energy in Dimitar Glavchev's cabinet. In the period from 2019 to the beginning of 2023, Ravnachki is the executive director of "Gas Hub Balkan" EAD. Until December 2023, he is a member of the general assembly of the European Association of Energy Exchanges in Europe. He is the representative of Bulgaria in the management coordination board of the common platform for the purchase of natural gas, established at the end of 2022 by the European Commission. Since February 2023, Kiril Ravnachki is a member of the Management Board of Bulgartransgaz EAD. From 2012 to 2018, he worked in the gas transmission operator as a specialist in the "Finance" department, as well as as the director of the "Analysis and International Activity" department. He graduated with degrees in "Economics" and "Business Administration" at the American University in Bulgaria.
Source: news.bg (11.04.2024)

A project for the gasification of the Mariska Basin begins "Bulgartransgaz" has announced a public order for a technical project for the smoothing of gas transmission infrastructure to supply consumers in the Eastern Maris region. The state-owned company has received applications for investment interest for the future supply of natural gas to existing and planned facilities in the region. The aim is to modernize the combustion plants of thermal power plants and other energy consumers, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preserve jobs. The project developed by the gas transmission operator includes the construction of new high-pressure gas pipelines with an approximate total length of 73 km. The estimated value of the public procurement is BGN 1.3 million.
Source: Dnevnik (16.04.2024)

The ceramic plate factory "Keros Keramika" EAD in the eastern industrial zone of Ruse is facing losses of over 3 million euros due to a planned stoppage of gas supply to the city for prevention. Due to the specifics of the production, they call on the gas company to give them enough time so that they can prepare the technique for a smooth stop. Only yesterday, "Bulgartransgaz" informed that on May 14, the supply of gas will be stopped. In order not to break down the machines at the plant, a long period of preparation is needed, explained executive director Salvador Bayester. If sufficient time is not given for preparation, the total losses to the enterprise may amount to more than 3 million euros. It employs 170 staff. dunavmost.
Source: Other (10.05.2024)

The profit of "Bulgartransgaz" for 2023 decreases to BGN 210 million The general trend of shrinking profits of state-owned energy companies does not escape the gas transmission operator "Bulgartransgaz". The company reports a decrease in its profit to BGN 210.5 million for 2023 compared to BGN 283 million for the same period of the previous year. The total amount of revenues is already under a billion - BGN 958 million (at BGN 1.1 billion for 2022). The amount of liabilities decreased by 13% to BGN 2.3 billion compared to BGN 2.6 billion a year earlier. The main part of the company's commercial obligations are related to the performed activities under "Turkish Stream", owed to the association "Consortium Arcade". 3, the debts to him are in the total amount of BGN 457.3 million as of 31.12.2023, and according to the terms of the contract, they will be paid on the basis of a repayment plan until the end of 2031.At the same time, 2023 saw a 7% increase to 145.5 million Mwh of total natural gas transported to neighboring countries compared to the same period of the previous year, when the quantities were 135 million Mwh. The transfer to the borders with Romania, North Macedonia and Serbia is growing, while that to Greece is decreasing. The largest amount of natural gas was transferred to Serbia - 89.5 million Mwh, against the background of almost 81 million Mwh for the same period of the year, but this is due to the transit transfer via "Turkish Stream". This growth is more than sustainable - for comparison, in 2021 the transferred quantities were only 29.4 million Mwh. The costs for the so-called external services of "Bulgartransgaz" grow to BGN 22.6 million in the year compared to BGN 15 million in 2022. Until some time ago, these were the "favorite" payments of state-owned companies, through which they financed controversial activities such as advertising, consulting services, etc., outsourced to external companies.
Source: Capital (10.05.2024)

"Bulgartransgaz" announced the winners who will build the vertical gas corridor The state gas distribution company "Bulgartransgaz" announced the results of the announced public procurement in connection with the implementation of the vertical gas corridor through the construction and commissioning of new sites for the expansion of the gas transmission infrastructure in Bulgaria. The project aims to increase the natural gas transmission capacity at the interconnection points Kulata/Sidirokastro in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria and Negru Voda/Kardam in the direction from Bulgaria to Romania. The public procurement is in three separate positions with a total estimated value of BGN 586,669,410 excluding VAT. The following were ranked in first place: for the "Looping from the Tower to Kresna" site - "HIL International - GBS 1" (with a proposed price of BGN 131,777,777 excluding VAT); for the project "Transmission gas pipeline from Piperevo to Pernik" - "Negru voda Kardam 2024" (with a price of nearly BGN 100 million without VAT).; for the object "Looping from Rupcha to Vetrino" - "HIL International - GBS 3" (BGN 353,222,222 without VAT). "HIL International - GBS 1" is a union of two foreign and three Bulgarian companies, and the following participate in it: the American "HIL International N.V.", the Bulgarian "Glavbolgarstroy", "Glavbolgarstroy International", "GBS Energy Solutions" and the American " GBS Technologies". The subcontractors declared by the association are: "CERC - Evans" B.V., "Emerson Automation Solutions", "Honeywell" and "Ensol VM". "Negru Voda Kardam 2024" is a union of two foreign and one Bulgarian company, whose members are the American "Divicom", the Romanian "Habau" and the Bulgarian SAIE. The subcontractors declared by the association are "Ensol VM" and "Khimkomplekt Engineering". "HIL International - GBS 3" is a merger of "HIL International N.V.", "Glavbolgarstroy", "Glavbolgarstroy International", "GBS Energy Solutions" and "GBS Technologies Inc". The subcontractors declared by the association are: "CERC - Evans", "Emerson Automation Solutions", "Honeywell" and "Ensol VM".
Source: Dnevnik (21.05.2024)

The official cabinet approved the withdrawal of an investment loan and state guarantees for it in the amount of BGN 625 million for the implementation of the Vertical Gas Corridor project. State guarantees have been requested by the Ministry of Energy, and they will be included in the budget for 2025. The loan will be drawn by the state company Bulgartransgaz. The investment project is for the expansion of the gas transmission infrastructure of "Bulgartransgaz" for the implementation of the Vertical Corridor initiative of the gas transmission operators of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine and Moldova. This will provide an opportunity to transfer additional volumes of natural gas, subject to of the legislation in the field of state aid. The projects are "Increasing the capacity for transmission of natural gas at the interconnection point Kulata-Sidirokastro in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria"; "Increasing the capacity for transmission of natural gas at the interconnection point Negru Voda-Kardam in the direction from Bulgaria to Romania" and "High-pressure gas transmission infrastructure to supply consumers in the Eastern Mariscia region".
Source: Sega (05.07.2024)

IMF: State-owned companies in Bulgaria are expensive, inefficient and carry risks for everyone Large companies with state participation in Bulgaria have low profitability and inefficient allocation of resources, and although they are not significant in terms of share, they play a decisive role in the production network, which can negatively affect the productivity and competitiveness of the entire economy. The level of state-guaranteed debt of state-owned enterprises is small - on average only 0.5% of GDP in 2010-21 (the average level in the EU is 9%, and in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe it is 3.5%). And the support with such guarantees due to the COVID-19 pandemic was many times lower - 0.3% of GDP in Bulgaria compared to almost 2% in the EU for 2019-2021. But there is a key point - there is no generalized information on guarantees in Bulgaria, issued by the state-owned enterprises themselves, since their activity does not require the approval or supervision of the Ministry of Finance. Thus, total liabilities averaged around 12% of GDP in 2013-2021, which could be a source of concern. This is stated in the Analysis of the International Monetary Fund "Fiscal risks of state-owned companies". The analysis is based on data from 15 companies in which the authorities at various levels have over 50% share: Energy sector (National Electric Company (NEK), Kozloduy NPP, Bulgargaz, TPP Maritsa Iztok 2, Electricity System Operator, Bulgarian energy holding (BEH), Mini Maritsa Iztok, "Bulgartransgaz"), Transport sector (National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRI), BDZ - Passenger Transport Ltd., Air Traffic Control (RVD), Transport Construction and Reconstruction (TSV), BDZ - Cargo Services Ltd., Port of Varna, Bulgarian Port Infrastructure). The total assets and liabilities of these 15 companies represent about 70% of the total for the entire segment with state participation 2015-2021, which covers about 700 companies. The general assessment for them is that the fiscal support is much higher than what they give as revenues to the budget. In 2017-19, they received subsidies, capital investments and capital transfers (direct support) and deferred tax and dividend exemptions (indirect support) of an average of 1.5% of GDP. To this they have responded with a contribution of 0.2%. Net, they absorbed 1.3% of GDP immediately before the pandemic and at the end of the last GERB government. In the first pandemic year (2020), this ratio became 2.5% against 0.1% and is an illustration of how an unexpected shock can lead to large fiscal costs for companies with state participation, the IMF says. These are companies in which 4.1% of all employed work. Their financial stability can affect the fiscal performance of the state, especially when they have incurred potentially significant costs, whether expressly guaranteed or without the authorities making a contractual commitment. In 2023-2024, the state doubled the dividend collected by these companies from 50% to 100% to support the budget, but the price for this is a risk to their investment, productivity and profitability. "Furthermore, the dividend policy lacks predictability and seems to be driven by the needs of the state budget. Such a policy reduces the incentives of companies to invest and thus has a significant adverse effect on economic activity," the authors of the report add. State-owned companies are much, much less profitable than those in the private sector. Return on assets (one of the key measures of profitability) was between minus 1% and 2% for the period 2015-2021, with an average of 10% in private. In 2022, this difference suddenly melted (9% for state-owned, 11% for private), but not because there was better management, but because of three specific companies - NEK, Kozloduy NPP and Maritsa Iztok 2 TPP, and their income from sharply increased energy prices due to Russian aggression against Ukraine. Return on equity (another measure of profitability, measuring a firm's ability to generate profits using its shareholders' capital) for SOEs is on average 20 percentage points lower than that of private firms. Due to the specifics of many state-owned enterprises, profitability is logically lower than that of private ones, but in countries with better management results, the difference between them is 4 percentage points or five times smaller than in Bulgaria, the IMF recalls .Everyone suffers from the bad management of business with state participation. Six state-owned enterprises have been facing short-term challenges in meeting their obligations for years. In the period 2015-2022, without sufficient liquid assets to cover the amounts due to creditors in the next 12 months were National Railway Infrastructure Company, TPP Maritsa Iztok 2, National Electric Company, BDZ - Passenger Transport, BDZ - Freight Transport and Transportation Construction and Reconstruction. Bulgargaz faced a liquidity crisis in mid-2022 due to low collection of receivables and arrears from Toplofikatsia Sofia. Accumulated arrears to suppliers were paid through a (bridging) loan and/or state aid. Another indicator of concern to IMF analysts is the high debt-to-asset ratio (ie, less financial flexibility) of several large state-owned enterprises. These are, for example, "Bulgartransgaz", National Railway Infrastructure, Bulgarian Energy Holding and Electric Power System Operator. It has also seen how debt-to-asset dynamics can change sharply - in the case of Bulgargaz, it jumps from around 45% in 2019 to over 90% in 2022. The combination of high debt and low profitability raises concerns for the ability to service the debt and therefore risks at the fiscal level, the IMF explains.
Source: Dnevnik (18.07.2024)