Page 16 - FSUOGM Week 18 2022

FSUOGM NEWS IN BRIEF FSUOGM

Amendments providing Bulgaria and Poland earlier this week. Serbia approved the seven at the lowest price, it said in
Russia’s Gazprom cut off gas supplies to both sent requests for offers to twelve suppliers and
for exit from Russian receives gas from Russia via Bulgaria. a statement.
“So far, everything is going as usual, which
Contracts with these suppliers will be signed
gas market supported by doesn’t mean that we are not ready for any sit- shortly and Bulgargaz will be able to determine
uation. There have been no announcements, what change of price to seek from the state
Latvian parliament we are in contact with the Bulgarian side, but energy regulator, KEVR.
KEVR is expected to determine the price
that doesn’t mean that it can’t happen that Bul-
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, supported garia, since it is 100% dependent on Russian gas, increase for this month on May 10.
on April 28 amendments to the Energy Law that decides to take a part from the transit for itself,” Meanwhile, Energy Minister Alexandar
provide for a ban on Russian natural gas supplies she said, the portal eKapija reported. Nikolov said that the country is currently buying
to Latvia from January 1, 2023. Mihajlovic added that Serbia has enough gas gas at a price that is 10% higher compared to that
The decision was supported by 57 members, in storage for more than a month, and that the under its contract with Gazprom. However, he
while one, Julija Stepaņenko, was against it. other option is to switch to fuel oil. The third also said that the contract amendment, required
Nine members abstained. There are 100 Saeima option is for Russia to continue supplying Serbia by Gazprom, would not only have forced the
deputies in all, LSM.lv, a Latvian news website, through Hungary. Serbia is ready for all scenar- country to pay in roubles but also would have
reported on April 29. ios in the event of an energy-political crisis, she lifted the price of the gas.
There was a debate on what will replace Rus- said. Bulgaria was importing almost 90% of its
sian natural gas. Latvia is planning to build an natural gas from Russia. However, the govern-
LNG terminal of its own. Estonia is planning to ment in Sofia said it has a plan to compensate for
do likewise, while Lithuania already has its own Bulgarian officials say Gazprom’s decision and that it will not obey the
LNG terminal. Russian demands.
75% of necessary electricity is produced in they won’t interrupt gas
Latvia, while approximately 90% of the natural
gas needed by Latvia has been purchased from supplies to Serbia Greece to help Bulgaria
Russia so far, paying around €400mn annually.
Bulgarian officials said on April 27 that they with gas supply
would not obstruct the flow of Russian gas to
Gas supply from Russia Serbia and other countries. Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has
Russia’s Gazprom decided to stop delivering pledged to help Bulgaria with gas supplies after
to Bosnian Federation natural gas to Bulgaria as of April 27 after Sofia Gazprom halted deliveries as of April 27, Reuters
refused to amend the existing contract to pay in reported.
uninterrupted rubles. Late on April 26, Gazprom decided to stop
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and delivering natural gas to Bulgaria and Poland as
Deliveries of natural gas from Russia to Bosnia Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov said they they refused to pay in roubles.
& Herzegovina have continued with the agreed would not create artificial disturbances to other On April 27, Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Kiril
amount, although Gazprom has suspended gas countries, including Serbia. Petkoc discussed the situation with Mitsotakis.
supplies to Bulgaria, Energoinvest announced. Earlier, Serbian Energy Minister Zorana “The prime minister said that Greece will
Energoinvest, the natural gas importer to the Mihajlovic said that gas supplies from Russia help Bulgaria to deal with the new situation
Bosnian Federation, has no information on the have not been interrupted following Gazprom’s caused by the Russian decisions on energy,”
potential interruption of gas supplies to the Fed- decision to stop supplying Bulgaria, TV N1 Mitsotakis’ office said without providing further
eration and has not received a request for pay- reported. details, Reuters reported.
ment in Russian rubles. According to the Anadolu Agency, Austria It quoted a Greek source close to the matter as
Energoinvest’s payment to Gazprom is still in and Germany agreed on April 27 to pay for Rus- saying that Athens could help Sofia by reversing
euros, the company said. Bosnia is not on Rus- sian gas in rubles. the flow of the TurkStream pipeline, a mecha-
sia’s list of enemy countries. nism that has been used before. The pipeline
On April 27, Gazprom suspended gas sup- transports Russian gas to Greece via the Black
plies to Bulgaria and Poland in response to sanc- Bulgargaz OKs 7 offers Sea, Turkey and Bulgaria.
tions imposed on the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, Bulgaria’s Energy Minister Alex-
from 3 new suppliers ander Nikolov said at a press briefing that the
country has secured gas for at least one month
Serbia has three options for gas deliveries and in that time will talk to the EU to seek a solu-
tion to this problem.
in case of gas supply crisis, Bulgaria’s state-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz country and said the halt of supplies was a “rude
Petkov accused Russia of blackmailing the
said it has approved seven offers from three sup-
energy minister says pliers for delivery of natural gas in May to sub- violation” of the contract between Bulgaria and
stitute for the stopped deliveries from Russia’s Gazprom.
Serbia is currently receiving the agreed quanti- Gazprom. “We shall not succumb to such racketeering.
ties of gas through Bulgaria, and if the supply of Gazprom decided on April 26 to stop deliver- Bulgaria reviews all contracts with Gazprom,
gas is suspended, the state will activate the crisis ing gas to Bulgaria as of April 27, after the coun- including the transit contract through Bulgaria,
plan, Minister of Energy and Mining Zorana try has refused to start paying in roubles. because unilateral blackmail action is inadmis-
Mihajlovic, told RTS. To cover the lacking quantities, Bulgargaz has sible,” Petkov said.

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 18 05•May•2021