Bulgaria needs to find 3 billion cubic meters of gas.
Bulgaria will not extend the long-term contract for the purchase of Russian gas, which expires on December 31, 2022 Bulgarian National Radio.
He said that because of Russian aggression against Ukraine, there could be no negotiations with Gazprom.
«There are alternatives. The old pipes of the Trans-Balkan Stream […] there have a capacity of about 20 billion cubic meters, which can be used in both directions. We need 3 billion cubic meters»,” Vasilev said.
According to him, deliveries from Qatar, Algeria can become an alternative to Russian gas.
«This is a pan-European strategy. In the next week or two, a common gas contract for the entire European Union will be discussed at the European level. We expect this mechanism to start operating in the summer», the Bulgarian minister added.
In November 2012, Russian Gazprom signed a contract with Bulgargaz for the supply of gas in the amount of up to 2.9 billion cubic meters per year for the period from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2022. Since 2020, Russian gas has been delivered to Bulgaria via the Turkish Stream pipeline through Turkey.