site.btaTurkish Energy Company BOTAS, Bulgargaz Execs Mull Potential LNG Deal Re-negotiation

A meeting between representatives of Turkiye's BOTAS energy company and Bulgaria's Bulgargaz EAD was held here on Thursday.  The meeting was closed to the media.

Later in the day, Bulgargaz said in a press release that representatives of the two companies held another round of negotiations regarding the Agreement between the two companies. In connection with a decision of the National Assembly, which instructed the Energy Minister to renegotiate the Agreement in order to preserve the financial stability of Bulgargaz EAD, the management of the company will inform the Energy Minister of the results of the meeting at the earliest opportunity. The report, which will be sent to the Energy Minister, will include both the relevant analysis and proposals for further action in the negotiation process with the Turkish company Botas.

On April 19, 2024, the National Assembly instructed the Energy Minister to take the necessary actions to re-negotiate the agreement between Bulgargaz EAD and BOTAS, signed on January 3, 2023. The agreement gives Bulgargaz EAD access to liquefied natural gas terminals and the gas transmission network of BOTAS. Critics of the deal argue that, under the take-or-pay agreement, the Bulgarian company undertook to pay nearly USD 500,000 daily to the Turkish supplier for reserving 1.850 billion cu m capacity on regasification terminals in Turkiye for natural gas provided by Bulgargaz EAD and its delivery to the Bulgarian border. For the 15-plus months during which the agreement had been in effect, Bulgargaz EAD had delivered less than 250 million cu m of gas under it but was obliged to pay some USD 250 million for the booked capacity despite using a tiny fraction of it, the critics claim.