The contract with the Turkish state-run gas company BOTAŞ is as much a problem for the Bulgarian side as it is for the Turkish side, Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov said in an interview with public service TV BNT. He stated further that he had never before seen a contract with no termination clause, which means that every day Bulgaria owes the Turkish side EUR 500,000 without getting any gas.

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“For more than six months the Bulgarian side has not been paying what it owes the Turkish side for the simple reason that a company (Bulgargaz) which we left at a 63 million profit in 2021, is now at a loss of 222 million and with empty bank accounts which makes it a problem to pay the invoices under this contract,” Minister Stankov said.

• Bulgargaz has not paid Turkish company BOTAŞ for the so-called reserved gas capacity since July

He explained that BOTAŞ is expecting to receive a total of EUR 3 billion from Bulgaria in the space of 13 years for unused pipeline capacity, but that it is unused because of the double and even treble transportation fees set down by the Turkish side.

“We shall find a way out of this contract. We are seeking a just option for Bulgaria to only pay for the gas that has been transferred from Türkiye and not for the unused capacity of the pipeline,” Zhecho Stankov stated.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov
Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
Photo: Ministry of Energy