site.btaBulgarian Energy Minister Confers with Turkish Counterpart in Istanbul

Bulgaria's Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov and Turkiye's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alpaslan Bayraktar conferred in Istanbul on Saturday on Malinov's initiative, his Ministry said in a press release.

The Bulgarian Energy Minister acted in compliance with a Bulgarian National Assembly Resolution of April 19, 2024, which assigned him to take action for re-negotiating an agreement between Bulgarian state-owed natural gas supplier Bulgargaz and Turkish energy company BOTAS signed on January 3, 2023.

In this connection, the Bulgarian side expressed its wish to have the agreement reviewed, and the Turkish side showed understanding and readiness for further cooperation. Malinov and Bayraktar directed the two companies' managements to start active work in relation to the Bulgargaz-BOTAS agreement.
 
The sides considered an opportunity for increasing the connectivity between the two countries' electricity-transmission and gas-transmission systems and acknowledged the progress achieved after Bulgartransgaz and BOTAS signed an interconnection agreement in January 2024. Malinov noted the importance of this agreement for the diversification of natural gas sources for Bulgaria as well as the regional and European gas markets. Turkiye's gas-transmission network affords access to gas extracted from local deposits, Azerbaijan and Iran and to the global market of liquefied gas via the Turkish regasification terminals.