Bulgaria picks two Greek firms to supply LNG
Bulgaria's state-owned gas firm Bulgargaz said on October 10 it had selected two Greek companies, Mytilineos and DEPA Commercial, to supply it with LNG in November, taking advantage of a newly-completed pipeline connecting the two countries.
Bulgaria used to rely solely on Russian gas but lost access to those supplies at the end of April after its government refused to comply with a Kremlin decree on making payments in rubles. However, Bulgaria and Greece launched the commercial operation of a gas link earlier this year, enabling it to access LNG brought ashore in Greece as well as piped gas from Azerbaijan.
In a statement, Bulgargaz said Mytilineos and DEPA had secured slots at the Revithoussa LNG terminal near Athens, after being selected out of eight bidders from Europe, Asia and the US. The company has also launched a tender for supplies in December.
The pipeline between Bulgaria and Greece has an initial capacity of 3bn m3/year. Bulgaria's consumption of gas came to 3.3bn m3 in 2021, according to BP data, up from 2.9bn m3 in the previous year.
Natural gas plays a relatively minor role in Bulgarian electricity generation, account for only 5% of the mix in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency, whereas coal supplies 33% and nuclear 41%. But it is a critical source of heating, supplying 55% of the total whereas coal only delivers 20%.