Bulgaria is interested in restarting Nabucco

Caspian Energy (CE):  Ms. Petkova, what are the main priorities in the development of the energy sector in Bulgaria within the framework of the European Energy Union? What progress has been made in the implementation of the interconnectors in Bulgaria, which are relevant to Europe?

Temenuzhka Petkova, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Bulgaria: Considering the need for sustainable development and improvement of the competitiveness of national economies, this year the EU countries have agreed on the necessity to create a European Energy Union. It will ensure security of energy supply through the diversification of sources and routes of gas supplies in Europe. Following the principles of the Energy Union - liberty and security of energy flows, solidarity between all countries in providing energy supplies, the Bulgarian Government is actively working to diversify the sources and routes of supplies of natural gas for Bulgaria and Southeastern Europe.

In this context, the construction of interconnectors with neighbor countries is a major priority for the Government. This is a mandatory requirement for achieving the goals of energy security.

The interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, which is an integral part of the Southern Gas Corridor, will provide not only the diversification of routes, but also of sources of gas to Southeastern Europe. Unfortunately, because of the political instability in Greece, the signing of the final investment decision is delayed. Due to the active work of the project partners, I believe that after the establishment of a regular government in Greece the document will be signed in a very short time, which in turn will launch the construction of the pipeline.

The interconnector Bulgaria-Serbia is a very important project too that will enhance market integration and competition. Connecting the Bulgarian and the Serbian gas transmission systems will provide integration with the EU gas network as well as a bidirectional flow of natural gas. A few days ago, we signed a contract for construction supervision of the project and the feasibility study should be ready by the end of November this year. 

The interconnector with Turkey is extremely significant for both, Bulgaria and the Southern Gas Corridor. Evidence of this importance is the fact that the feasibility study for the project is financed by the EU.

The interconnector with Romania, being at quite an advanced stage, is about to be completed. What remains is the implementation of a two-kilometer long section under the Danube River, which could happen within a few months.

The interconnectors with Greece and Serbia, along with the modernization and extension of the Bulgarian gas transmission system are among the seven priority gas projects in the Action Plan to the Memorandum of Understanding for a common approach to tackle the challenges of diversification and security of gas supplies. This is an indication of the importance our European partners attribute to these projects.