The Gazprom Headquarters today hosted a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee and Dimitar Gogov, Executive Director of Bulgargaz.

The parties discussed the progress in promoting cooperation between Russia and Bulgaria in the oil and gas sector. In particular, the meeting addressed the implementation of the South Stream project pre-investment stage and the issues related to the possibility of switching to direct contractual relations for supplying Bulgarian consumers with Russian natural gas.

The meeting participants highly appreciated the Cooperation Agreement that had been entered into by Gazprom and Bulgarian Energy Holding in May 2009 as part of the South Stream project implementation, and a significant potential of the parties for further successful development of the project aimed at ensuring direct Russian gas supplies to Europe.

Background:

Russian natural gas has been exported to Bulgaria since 1974. In 2008 gas supplies by Gazprom export totaled 3.5 billion cubic meters.

Natural gas is transited by Gazprom through Bulgaria to Turkey, Greece and Macedonia.

Bulgaria entered the South Stream project according to the Intergovernmental Agreement signed between Russia and Bulgaria in January 2008.

On May 15, 2009 Gazprom and Bulgarian Energy Holding signed the Cooperation Agreement to construct the pipeline for natural gas transit across the Republic of Bulgaria within the South Stream project.