Latest Articles about Bulgaria
Gazprom’s Anti-Nabucco Campaign Misses German Targets
Gazprom’s proposal for German RWE to join Gazprom’s South Stream project, has fallen flat at both the corporate and the political levels in Germany. The proposal clearly aimed to disrupt the European Union-backed Nabucco project, where RWE is a key stakeholder, developing offshore gas in... MORE
Gazprom Enlists More Western Allies in South Stream
On June 19, at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Gazprom announced the appointment of Marcel Kramer as chairman of the board and CEO of South Stream AG, the company designated to build and operate the pipeline in the Black Sea (the overland sections are separate... MORE
Gazprom Again Reconfigures the South Stream Project
Bulgaria’s suspension of the South Stream project on its territory is forcing Gazprom to reconfigure South Stream’s overall geography, with uncertain options and prospects (EDM, June 14, 18, 22). Gazprom is also reconfiguring the project’s technical and economic features. Moscow is enlisting influential allies in... MORE
Gazprom Play Map Games in the Balkans With South Stream
Romania’s economy ministry announced on June 16 that it had persuaded Gazprom to include Romania, instead of Bulgaria, in South Stream and other gas projects on Romanian territory. The Romanian ministry sounded self-congratulatory about replacing Bulgaria, following Sofia’s suspension of South Stream and other Russian... MORE
Bulgarian Government Disavows Three Russian Energy Projects
Bulgarian government statements on June 11-12 have conclusively disavowed Russia’s projects to build the South Stream gas pipeline, Burgas-Alexandropolis oil pipeline, and Belene nuclear power plant, on Bulgaria’s territory.These announcements can not be surprising. The government, led by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and his GERB... MORE
Bulgarian Government Skeptical on South Stream Project
Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller held talks in Sofia on February 16 “to activate work on the South Stream project in Bulgaria” (Interfax, February 16). Bulgaria is the country most pivotal to South Stream. The pipeline is planned to run from Russia across the Black Sea... MORE
Russian Gas and Oil Projects on Hold in Bulgaria
On December 11 in Sofia, a regular meeting of the Russian-Bulgarian inter-governmental commission on economic cooperation failed to restart the three major Russian energy projects in Bulgaria: the South Stream gas pipeline, Burgas-Alexandropolis oil pipeline, and Belene nuclear power plant. The center-right Bulgarian government, in... MORE
Bulgarian Government Suspends Energy Negotiations with Russia Pending Review
Bulgaria has a chance for another national emancipation (Vazrazhdene), in this case from total dependence on Russian energy supplies, under the new government. As an E.U. member country, Bulgaria can also contribute significantly to reducing European dependence on Russian energy monopolies. Given Bulgaria's key location... MORE
Nabucco Intergovernmental Agreement Signed in Ankara
On July 13 the Nabucco transit countries removed an important obstacle for the strategic pipeline project. Attending a high profile meeting hosted by Turkey, the prime ministers of Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey inked the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). The ceremony was also attended by... MORE
Bulgaria’s “Overgas,” a Russian Spy in Canada, and Gazprom
In February 2009, after the Ukrainian-Russian gas conflict ended and deliveries of gas were restored to Bulgaria, Bulgarian officials announced that they would once again seek to remove two middleman companies-Overgas, Inc., and Wintershall Erdgas Handelshaus Zug AG (WIEE)-from the gas supply chain between Russia... MORE