Bulgaria’s and Europe’s energy security through diversification of the supply sources and routes is an extremely important topic for all countries. It is due to the fact that power engineering is vital for the development of each national economy, Bulgaria’s Minister of Economy Temenuzhka Petkova said during the Fourth EU-Southeast Europe Summit held in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia. In Minister Petkova’s view, it is impossible to speak of steadfast development and economic growth without a steady development of the energy field.

“The power engineering field develops steadily, if the energy security is ensured, the energy sector is competitive and the supplies of energy resources are safe. Bulgaria’s cabinet has been working vigorously in this direction. That is why one of our top priorities in the power engineering sector is to guarantee energy security in Bulgaria and the whole region of Southeast Europe through diversification of the routes and the sources of gas supplies. However, diversification is impossible without the establishment of the necessary energy infrastructure and the interconnection between all countries. That is why we have focused on the construction of four gas interconnectors between Bulgaria and Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, Serbia and Bulgaria and Bulgaria and Turkey.”

In Minister Petkova’s words, the top priority of Bulgaria’s government regards the completion of the gas interconnection with Bulgaria’s southern neighbor Greece. Temenuzhka Petkova said that the project between Bulgaria and Greece is of great significance, because the country’s gas supplies would not depend on a single energy source anymore. Recently Minister Petkova met with her Greek counterpart Panos Skurletis and discussed the future interconnector between the two countries.

“I am delighted to inform you that in the coming weeks we are to start the construction of the long-awaited interconnector. We have to solve some technical issues only. I hope that we will sign with our Greek partners the investment decision of the project and complete it in a timely manner. In 2015 state budget Bulgaria’s cabinet allotted some EUR 80 million state guarantee for that project. Recently we held a Development Council with all parties participating in the current government and fortunately all of them supported the idea that the state guarantee under that project should be increased in the new 2016 state budget.”

In Minister Petkova’s view, the construction of the gas link between Bulgaria and Romania is in its final phase and the first interconnector in Bulgaria will start functioning in the beginning of 2016. The countries only have to complete the construction of a two-kilometer section underneath the Danube. Bulgaria has already found EU financing under the Competitiveness Programme to build the gas interconnection with its western neighbor Serbia. It is also working actively under the interconnection project with Turkey. Due to money provided by the European funds, Bulgaria will be able to make initial surveys and find out whether the technical and financial parameters of the projects are in its favor, Minister Petkova said and added:

“We are also working actively on another topic related to the energy security of this country-the local extraction of energy resources. Bulgaria relies a lot on its local energy deposits, because it would enable us to diversify the sources of gas supplies. That is why the first task of the current government was to start the procedure for deep-water exploration for gas and oil in the Black Sea in the two sections Silistar and Teres. I am delighted to announce that the procedure regarding the prospecting of the Silistar section was completed and that Shell energy company will start drilling for oil and gas in the Black Sea. The initial forecasts are very optimistic and I hope that in several years Bulgaria, like its northern neighbor Romania, would be able to satisfy its gas consumption with local production only.”

In Minister Petkova’s view, the state of the gas infrastructure is vital for the energy security in Bulgaria and the Southeast region. Bulgaria is working actively on the rehabilitation of the existing gas pipeline network. Recently the authorities completed the modernization of the gas compressor station in Ihtiman, which is currently the most up-to-date facility of this type in the whole Balkan region. Moreover, 80% of all gas compressor stations in the region were built on Bulgarian territory, i.e. Bulgaria plays a key role in the energy security of the region, Temenuzhka Petkova went on to say.

The authorities are also planning to increase the capacity of Bulgaria’s biggest gas storage facility in Chiren from 550 million cubic meters to 1 billion cubic meters of gas. Bulgaria’s Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova is confident that Bulgaria would turn into a key factor on Europe’s gas map, provided all abovementioned projects are fulfilled successfully.

Several days ago Russian energy giant Lukoil found huge gas deposits in Romania’s section of the Black Sea. According to preliminary estimates, the total amount of gas equals 30 billion cubic meters. If Bulgaria, for instance, is lucky enough to find such large quantities of gas in its Black Sea section, it would be able to satisfy its energy needs for one whole decade, because the country’s current annual gas consumption amounts to 3 billion cubic meters of gas. In other words, Bulgaria will not have to spend even a penny on gas imports during that period, which would have a very beneficial effect over the country’s economy.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov