Bulgaria is already receiving its first deliveries of natural gas from the floating LNG terminal near Alexandroupolis

The LNG ship Sea peak Magelan is the new natural gas supplier for Bulgaria and Bulgargaz. The transport gem in the gas sector docked a few days ago at the new LNG terminal near the Greek city of Alexandroupolis. And from there, through underwater and above-ground gas pipelines and connections, the blue fuel reaches Bulgaria. The state company Bulgargaz is the first to start receiving natural gas from the new LNG terminal.

"The historic moment for Bulgaria is a historic moment for the entire region, because after a visionary decision we made a few years ago, today we are already getting the real diversification of natural gas for Bulgaria. And hence for the entire region." With these words, the Minister of Energy Vladimir Malinov is welcomed by a group of experts and Bulgarian journalists and experts at the floating LNG terminal Alexandroupolis. The executive directors of "Bulgargaz" EAD and "Bulgartransgaz" EAD Veselin Sinabov and Kiril Ravnachki, as well as the chairman of the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation Ivan Ivanov, took part in the ceremony welcoming the ship.

This is another source to make our country independent in terms of blue fuel supply, peaceful and competitive. And our households should be able to rely on constant heat in their homes, explained the minister.

The LNG regasification facility is impressive both in terms of its size and in terms of its technology. "Currently, the first ever delivery in the life of the terminal is taking place, as it has been operational since the first of October. And now it's the first delivery to Bulgaria," explained Malinov.

The first delivery of liquefied natural gas to Bulgaria at the newly opened terminal in Alexandroupolis, Greece, is already a fact. Today, the company TotalEnergies Gas and Power Ltd., which won the first of five tenders announced by Bulgargaz EAD for supplies in the period October 2024 - February 2025, delivered 1 million MWh to the gas market in our country. Part of this amount will be included in the mix for October, together with the gas from Azerbaijan and the Chiren gas plant, ensuring improved price conditions for Bulgarian consumers.

In front of the participants in the ceremony, Minister Malinov emphasized the fact that the delivery to Bulgaria by TotalEnergies is the first ever in the life of the new terminal. Minister Malinov clarified that the gas we receive today is of Norwegian origin.

The Alexandroupolis LNG terminal provides access to diversified supplies from reliable sources such as the US, Qatar, Egypt and others. The facility will contribute to the successful implementation of our priorities related to energy security and independence.

The commercial operation of the new facility will start on October 1, 2024 - the beginning of the 2024/2025 gas year. It has the capacity to store 153,500 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas and to regasify up to 5.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas gas per year. Through Bulgartransgaz EAD, the Bulgarian side is a 20% shareholder in Gastrade S.A. – the company, owner and operator of the terminal. In addition to Bulgaria, natural gas supplies to Greece, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine will be possible through the new facility. Bulgargaz EAD has a reserved capacity of 1 billion cubic meters of liquefied gas for unloading at the new terminal.

The capacity of the facility for the first five years is almost completely exhausted, which is eloquent proof of the interest in these supplies, it became clear from the words of Minister Malinov.

"This is the first real step of the overall concept for the Vertical Gas Corridor, supported by our partners in the European Union and the USA," the energy minister also pointed out, and clarified that this concept also includes the terminal in Revitousa (Greece), construction of the overall linear infrastructure for Bulgaria and the region and expansion of the "Chiren" WWTP.