Turkiye & Bulgaria sign natural gas co-op deal
Turkiye and Bulgaria have signed a cooperation agreement that will allow for the transfer of up to 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez was welcomed by his Bulgarian counterpart Rosen Hristov at the Office of the Council of Ministers, where he went within the framework of his visit to Bulgaria.
At the ceremony held under the auspices of Donmez and Hristov, a cooperation agreement in the field of natural gas was signed between the two countries.
BOTAS General Manager Burhan Ozcan signed on behalf of Turkiye, and Bulgargaz General Manager Denitsa Zlateva signed on behalf of Bulgaria.
In his statement after the signing ceremony, Minister Donmez expressed his wish that 2023 would be a year in which cooperation between the two countries, especially in energy, would increase.
Reminding that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev met in Istanbul last month, Donmez said, “I met with my colleague there and went over important issues in the energy sector once again. I would like to express that we are pleased that the issues discussed in Istanbul have turned into concrete steps in Sofia today, even less than a month after our latest meeting.”
Emphasizing that the signed memorandum of understanding will further develop the cooperation and ties between the two countries in the field of natural gas, Donmez said, “The memorandum of understanding will also be an important step in increasing the natural gas security of the Balkan geography. The duration of this agreement will be 13 years and there will be a gas transfer of up to 1.5 billion cubic meters per year. It will make a great contribution to the natural gas supply security of Europe, especially
Bulgaria.”
Donmez also gave information about the operation of the process.
“Our five LNG terminals, primarily Saros FSRU, will contribute to the process. Turkiye is a country that supplies gas from 15 countries with 7 different lines and LNG terminals. This is also one of the important steps for Turkiye to become a gas hub. With this infrastructure, we have put another brick in the gas center. It is also possible to increase this capacity in a very short time with the investments to be made by both supplier and European countries,” he said.
Donmez thanked those who contributed to the process.
Bulgarian Energy Minister Hristov also described the signed agreement as a “historical document”.
“Thanks to this agreement, we have the opportunity to buy natural gas from all natural gas producers in the world. We will also be able to benefit from the amount of gas that will reach Turkiye,” Hristov said.