Who is Vladimir Malinov? The face of "Bulgartransgaz", which proved that the projects and new gas supply routes are already happening

The executive director of "Bulgartransgaz" Vladimir Malinov was today nominated as acting minister of energy in the cabinet of Dimitar Glavchev. Malinov himself has been in the energy sector for many years and works hard in various gas projects that our country is implementing. And as he himself says, "the best is yet to come", because Bulgartransgaz is currently implementing a number of key projects related to national and regional energy security. In recent years, it has become possible to realize the redirection of natural gas flows instead of through Russian pipelines, now deliveries are made along routes from South to North.

One of the most challenging projects in recent years is the development of the Vertical Gas Corridor, where our country plays a key role. Once implemented, the "Vertical Gas Corridor" will offer a new route for the supply of blue fuel to the markets of Eastern and Central Europe. The main source is expected to be Azerbaijan, but the pipelines also connect to other key routes through which gas can be transported from further afield, including LNG supplies.

It was under the management of the new project minister that our country managed to achieve diversification of natural gas supply routes for the region. Vertical gas will provide opportunities to supply blue fuel to Ukraine and Moldova, and this is key for both countries, since the last contract between Kiev and Moscow for the transit of Russian gas expires at the end of the year.

In this sense, our country actively supports the European policy of diversification of sources and will be able to provide the much-needed blue fuel for Ukraine, where the war is still raging. And fuel supplies for the Vertical Gas Corridor will also come from the LNG terminals of the Mediterranean Sea.

Bulgartransgaz is also heavily involved there after the state allowed Vladimir Malinov to sign a contract and the gas operator became a shareholder with a 20 percent stake in the LNG project near Alexandroupolis. "Liquefied natural gas has revolutionized the sector in the 21st century and will guarantee secure, reliable and affordable energy supplies for Europe in the long term." Bulgartransgaz will consider any possibility of a shareholding in a new regasification terminal in Greece. Such an investment will be fully in synergy with the projects under the Vertical Corridor initiative and will be of key importance for the entire region," emphasized Malinov during a gas conference a month ago. Now it is just a matter of time to economically assess which new LNG project will interest Bulgartransgaz and the Bulgarian authorities. This is the only way to continue our country's efforts to diversify sources in the gas sector.

Such projects, embedded in the ten-year plan of "Bulgartransgaz", show that Bulgaria remains an important participant in the geopolitical game when it comes to natural gas supplies. And there is a definite vision for development in this direction. It is through the LNG terminals that our country already has access to a wide range of producers and suppliers of liquefied natural gas - the USA, Qatar and other countries from the Middle East no longer seem so distant to Bulgarian consumers and businesses. And that is precisely what is important in diversification - the presence of more suppliers leads to competition and a reduction of the prices.

However, Malinov's work at Bulgartransgaz also showed how much the Bulgarian gas transmission system can develop. A number of connections were established with neighboring countries, and the gas loop with Turkey allowed not only the implementation of the Balkan Stream project, but also the creation of new fuel transfer capacity on the existing infrastructure as well. In addition to Turkey, Bulgaria actually has two connections with the gas network of Romania. A few months ago, the new interconnector to Serbia was built, which connects the gas transmission networks between Novi Iskar and the Serbian city of Nis.

Such heavy projects are being built slowly in the Balkans, but the joint efforts of "Bulgartransgaz" and neighboring operators have allowed the region not to disappear from the gas map, but on the contrary - to provide alternative supplies from the East for the Western and Central European markets. An important role in this regard was also played by the construction of the gas interconnector with Greece, which is owned by the IGB company. His connection with the main gas pipeline of Bulgartransgaz came at the right time - when our country needed fuel supplies from non-Russian sources. The old routes connecting Greece and Turkey have also become reversible, and they, in combination with the Vertical Corridor, now give our country a new vision of the regional gas scene.

The other important object is the pearl in the crown of the Bulgarian gas sector - it has been known for decades that the storage facility near Chiren should be expanded to take on regional functions, and not just to cover gas consumption in the winter in our country. Malinov's team has worked particularly hard in the last five years to study and take real steps to expand the only gas storage in our country. The contracts with the contractors have already been signed, as Malinov promised to strictly monitor the implementation of the project, even from the position of energy minister.

So far, we have mentioned the European projects of Bulgartransgaz, but Malinov has been dealing with European ideas in the gas sector for years. There are many projects of common interest and "Bulgartransgaz" is actively involved in most of the undertakings when it comes to the region of South-Eastern Europe. Our gas transmission operator has good financial indicators, despite the heavy projects, procedures and regulations it has to comply with. This is just one of the arguments of the future Prime Minister Glavchev to entrust the finances in energy and BEH to Vladimir Malinov.

"Bulgartransgaz" also initiated the liberalization of the gas sector in our country through the construction of the "Gas Hub Balkan" - a platform for free trade of blue fuel. Huge investments were made in compressor stations in recent years, while the digitalization of the gas transmission infrastructure was also carried out in parallel.

Through the European projects of common interest, the new green policies of the community are already being actively developed. In this regard, "Bulgartransgaz" has taken the first steps to research the creation of a new hydrogen transfer pipe to connect Sofia and Thessaloniki. The new hydrogen pipeline could be the first in the Balkans, as the project has also been approved by the European Commission. It is in Vladimir Malinov's actions that it is seen that Bulgartransgaz has not only a vision, but also a will for European development, diversification of sources and sustainably stable supplies of natural gas to consumers.