Bulgaria on Tuesday signed a long-term agreement with Türkiye, granting it access to the neighboring country’s terminals for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and its network to transit supplies to its border.
The 13-year deal foresees a transport of up to 1.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year and will help increase the security of supplies in southeastern Europe, Türkiye’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said.
The agreement between Bulgaria’s state gas company Bulgargaz and Turkish state gas firm BOTAŞ will give Bulgaria access to Türkiye’s gas network and liquefied natural gas terminals to help bring in supplies.
Bulgaria, which was almost fully dependent on Russian gas, is trying to secure alternative gas supplies at affordable prices after Moscow cut off deliveries in April over Sofia’s refusal to pay in rubles.
Under the agreement, the natural gas that Bulgaria will acquire from international markets will be processed in Türkiye, before being delivered by a pipeline after being made ready for use.
Bulgargaz will be able to use Türkiye’s LNG terminals for cargo shipments, which would be transported via BOTAŞ’s gas network to Bulgaria.
“It will make a great contribution to the security of the natural gas supply of Europe, especially Bulgaria. This is also one of the important steps for Türkiye to become a gas hub,” Dönmez said.
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