site.btaGovernment Decides to Launch Competitions for Natural Gas, Oil Prospecting and Exploration in Black Sea

Government Decides to Launch Competitions for Natural  Gas, Oil Prospecting and Exploration in Black Sea


Sofia, December 3 (BTA) - At its regular meeting on Wednesday,
the Council of Ministers adopted a decision on the launch of
competitions for natural gas and oil prospecting and exploration
 in two areas located in
Bulgaria's continental shelf and exclusive economic zone:
Silistar Block 1-14 and Teres Block 1-22, the Government
Information Service said.

Commenting on the decision at the meeting, Prime Minister Boyko
Borissov said that it is among the most daring decisions that
the Cabinet will take. In his words, the previous government's
huge problems resulted from the concession for gas extraction in
 the Black Sea's aquatory  - the Khan Asparuh Block - and its
granting to a big European consortium: the Spanish company
Repsol, the French company Total, and the Austrian company OMV.

Bulgaria will export gas, and two of the blocks - Silistar and
Teres - also have big oil deposits, Borissov said. In his words,
 Bulgaria will turn into a competitor in gas export, because the
 deposits are huge. He went on to say that the construction of
gas interconnectors will continue. "Several years from now,
Bulgaria will be exporting gas and then I can guarantee - let us
 be alive to see it - cheep electricity, cheep central heating,
cheep water and huge economic growth. Trust me, then the
European industry will come here to stay because it will be
close to this gas," he forecast.

"I want you to know that we are giving in to a huge pressure
with the adoption of today's decision. I want you to know that
we are doing this with the clear awareness that not the future
but the present generation will be able to take advantage of
Bulgaria's natural resources," Borissov said at the meeting. He
added that the decision will "make very nervous our competitors
in gas extraction, production and sales in the whole region" and
 it will place Bulgaria in the most competitive and hard market
- the world gas market.