site.btaParliament Holds Hearing on BOTAS Deal

There was no pressure from President Rumen Radev to sign the contract of natgas supplier Bulgargaz with the Turkish energy company BOTAS, it transpired Thursday at a hearing in Parliament of Rossen Hristov, caretaker energy minister in 2022, Vladimir Malinov, executive director of gas operator Bulgartransgaz, and Deniza Slateva, former executive director of Bulgargaz, who headed the company when the contract was signed.

The President had no influence on the conclusion of Bulgargaz’ contract with BOTAS, said Hristov, adding that for a long time Turkiye had a policy of not allowing external traders to its liquefied gas terminals.

According to Hristov, the supply of LNG under the contract with BOTAS continues, and more than one tanker have already delivered gas to Bulgaria.

“At Rumen Radev's meeting with Turkish President Erdogan, we explained the need for stability in the region and for sources of natural gas other than Russia. With the assistance of President Rumen Radev, Erdogan instructed BOTAS to negotiate with Bulgaria,” Rossen Hristov said. According to him, the natural gas supply crisis occurred because of the refusal of Bulgaria's previous regular government to pay Russian natgas supplier Gazprom.

Under the contract with BOTAS, 14 tankers of LNG could be shipped per year if the connections through Greece were used, and this contract was the only option to receive non-Russian gas, Hristov said, and denied claims that he had received a commission for signing the contract.

Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov said during the hearing that terminating Bulgargaz’ contract with BOTAS would cost Bulgaria BGN 4.2 billion. “Every day this contract is accumulating costs for gas transmission capacity that we are not using. It’s like we’ve bought a truck vignette for a car-only motorway,” the minister said.