site.btaPM Radev Says Turkiye Seeks Renegotiation of BOTAS Deal to Deepen Energy Cooperation with Bulgaria

The Turkish side has expressed interest in renegotiating the BOTAS agreement in order to deepen energy cooperation with Bulgaria, including in both natural gas transmission and electricity transport, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said here on Friday.

Speaking to journalists in Parliament, Radev said the issue was discussed during his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. He was responding to questions about whether talks on renegotiating the contract with the Turkish company BOTAS had been part of the discussions. 

Radev said Turkiye was interested in increasing transport flows through Bulgaria, adding that Sofia shared the same interest. He also noted that discussions were ongoing regarding a second railway line between Bulgaria and Turkiye.

On January 3, 2023, the Bulgarian state-owed natural gas supplier Bulgargaz and Turkish energy company BOTAS signed an interconnection agreement, under which the Bulgarian side booked capacity of 106.4GWh/day on the Turkish LNG regasification terminals and agreed to pay for this BGN 1 million (EUR 512,000) daily for a period ending in 2035. At present, Bulgargaz does not import gas under the agreement with BOTAS, and in early May its arrears to the Turkish company approximated BGN 300 million. If the 13-year take-or-pay agreement is rescinded, the Bulgarian company will be liable for close to BGN 3 billion in damages. By a resolution passed on April 19, 2024, the Bulgarian National Assembly assigned then Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov to take action for re-negotiating the agreement.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister took part in question time in Parliament.