Today Gazprom’s Headquarters has hosted a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of Gazprom’s Management Committee and Rumen Ovcharov, Economy and Energy Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The parties discussed the prospects for mutual cooperation in the oil and gas sector, placing a focus on Russian gas transit via the Republic of Bulgaria to third countries.

Alexey Miller and Rumen Ovcharov pointed to the need of switching prospectively to gas transit market rates. The meeting resolved to shortly prepare proposals for the transit terms ensuring the balance of interests and taking into account the possibility of boosting transit volumes and creating new gas transmission capacities in the Republic.

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Russian natural gas exports to Bulgaria began in 1974. Over 2005 Bulgaria has received a total of 3.1 bcm of Russian gas. At present Gazprom is the only gas exporter to Bulgaria.

Russian gas is being transited via Bulgaria to Turkey, Greece and Macedonia

Based on the Agreement dated April 27, 1998, Gazexport (a Gazprom wholly owned subsidiary) and Bulgargaz have inked a Contract for gas transit.

On March 2, 2003, Gazprom and Bulgargaz sealed a Memorandum on further deepening of the Russian-Bulgarian relationships in the Russian natural gas delivery and transit sector. The Memorandum stipulates using Bulgarian transit pipelines towards Greece and Macedonia for gas supplies to southwestern Bulgaria.

Mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and Bulgaria has big potential in terms of constructing new gas distribution pipelines in Bulgaria and gaining access to end customers. The Russian-Bulgarian joint venture Overgas Inc. (50% of shares held by Gazprom) boasts vast experience in this sector. Overgas holds shares in 32 trading companies and is majority owner of 26 gas distribution companies with 56 licenses to distribute and supply natural gas to final consumers. In 2005 the company’s share in the Bulgarian gas distribution sector has accounted for 73.8 per cent.