Page 12 - EurOil Week 39 2022

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related to the technical support of the gas traditional natural gas from November 2022 quantities of fuel.
pipeline,” Aksyutin was cited as writing in to the end of 2023, it said in a statement on its CPC said the price pressure was evident as
the letter, “including design, manufacture, website. the companies cannot cover the costs of fuel
assembly, testing, repair, maintenance, and Bulgaria was almost completely dependent bought by Lukoil.
training.” on Russia for its natural gas imports, but at “Such behaviour by Lukoil Bulgaria
South Steam has the capacity to annually the end of April Gazprom stopped deliveries, represents a general strategy that aims to limit
deliver 33bn cubic metres (bcm) of natural after the former government of Kiril Petkov the wholesale trade of fuels in the country,
gas. Turkey consumes half of that provision, refused to pay in roubles. In August, the with the aim of strengthening its dominant
while the rest is sent on a pipeline (sometimes caretaker government led by Prime Minister position,” CPC noted.
referred to as Balkan Stream) dedicated to Gulub Donev refused to buy six tankers of US It added that this is abuse of a dominant
deliveries via Bulgaria to the Balkans and liquified natural gas (LNG), saying it cannot position according to Bulgarian and EU laws.
Central Europe, especially to Serbia, North find slots to unload them and that it is forced Lukoil has been given 60 days to object to the
Macedonia and Hungary. to restart talks with Gazprom on deliveries. CPC’s conclusions.
RFE/RL pointed out that TurkStream lies Earlier in September, caretaker Energy Lukoil Bulgaria is part of Lukoil Group
3 kilometres below the sea in waters with Minister Rossen Hristov said that the that owns Bulgaria’s sole oil refinery, Lukoil
high seismic activity. It said specialised ships authorities intend to call a tender for natural Neftochim Burgas. The company has a
frequently monitor the infrastructure for gas to secure additional supplies and hopes to transport and depot network throughout
damage and make rapid repairs. The required get offers from Greece and Turkey which have the country and more than 200 petrol filling
monitoring and repair equipment is mainly surpluses. stations.
imported from the West. Interested suppliers can file offers until
The contract revocation meant that “no October 4 and the offered quantity should be
one will be able to carry out repairs if a pipe is no less than 3mn MWh distributed through Lithuanian parliamentary
damaged, gas leaks, or if a part of the pipeline the 14 months of supply.
comes apart due to an earthquake. In fact, the Bulgargaz is ready to pay in advance for no speaker says Nord Stream
company has lost operational control over the more than half of the natural gas that would
pipeline, the Russian branch has lost contact be supplied. explosions should be viewed as
with the corporate centre,” a Russian source at Bulgargaz already called three tenders
South Stream Transport B.V. informed RFE/ for LNG earlier in September for supply warning
RL. between November 2022 and December
Western countries have accused Moscow 2023. However, the requested amount of The explosions that have damaged the Nord
of using the Ukraine war sanctions imposed LNG would not be enough to cover the Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea should
on Russia by the West as a pretext to cut gas country’s consumption along with the Azeri be considered as a warning that Europe’s
exports to Europe. Russia’s plan, they say, gas delivered through the Greece-Bulgaria energy infrastructure is not secure, Lithuanian
is to deal Europe severe economic blows interconnector, which has received the last Parliamentary Speaker Viktorija Cmilyte-
and potentially leave European households document that would allow the start of full Nielsen said on September 28, LRT.lt, the
exposed to winter weather, thereby operations as of October 1. website of Lithuanian national broadcaster
undermining support for the EU’s backing of LRT, reported.
Ukraine. “Judging from experts’ statements I
The EU last year received 40% of its gas Lukoil’s Bulgarian fuel trader have seen so far, this is obviously a kind of
needs from Russia, but many member states diversion, a consequence of some kind of
now want to wean themselves off Russian gas breaching competition rules, action,” she told Zinių Radijos radio.
supplies entirely, seeing it has a now hugely “These incidents show that energy
unreliable supplier that has become a threat to CPC says infrastructure is not safe. [...] It can be
their energy security. interpreted as a warning because the timing
Hungary Today on September 29 reported Bulgaria’s Competition Protection Committee of the incidents coincided with the Danish
Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto (CPC) said on September 29 that Lukoil prime minister’s visit to Poland where [the
as telling a meeting of energy ministers from Bulgaria has abused its monopoly position, gas pipeline’s] connection with Poland was
the Organisation of Turkic States (OCT) putting price pressure on its competitors. opened,” Cmilyte-Nielsen added.
in Almaty, Kazakhstan, that without an The CPC probed the Bulgarian unit of After seismologists reported explosions
operational TurkStream, Hungary would be in Russian Lukoil following complaints by OMV near the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2
big trouble. Bulgaria and Insa Oil. pipelines. European leaders said on September
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan During the investigation, the committee 27 that sabotage was the most likely cause of
has this week briefed reporters that he foresees found out that Lukoil Bulgaria has a dominant the leaks in the Baltic Sea pipelines connecting
no problems affecting Russian gas supplies to position on the fuel trade market, and Russia to Europe.
Turkey this winter. its well developed storage and transport Ukraine said the leaks were probably
infrastructure gives it a competitive advantage caused by Moscow’s terrorist attack, adding
over the remaining companies developing that it was an act of Russian “aggression
Bulgargaz calls tender for activity on the fuel market in the country. against the European Union”, LRT.lt reported.
“CPC identified competitive problems
natural gas supply until end- related to the price policy of the company in
the wholesale of motor fuels on the territory
2023 of the country,” CPC said in a statement.
It added that Lukoil has put price pressure
Bulgaria’s state-owned natural gas supplier on its competitors, gradually changing prices
Bulgargaz has called a tender for the supply of and removing discounts for purchases of large

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