Bulgaria’s energy ministry said, that Gazprom's supplies to Bulgaria rose by an annual 14.5% in the January-May period, bulgarian Seenews reported on June 5, 2017.
Gazprom’s exports to Bulgaria have been increasing each year since 2013, the energy ministry said in a press release on June 3, following a meeting between energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova and Alexey Miller, CEO of Gazprom.
Alexey Miller said he was confident that new gas transmission capacity via the Black Sea would make gas supplies to consumers in Southern and Southeast Europe, including Bulgaria, more reliable, the press release reads.
In April 2015, the European Commission sent a statement of objections expressing its preliminary view that Gazprom had been breaking EU antitrust rules by pursuing an overall strategy to partition Central and Eastern European gas markets.
In March 2017, the European Commission invited comments from all interested parties on the commitments submitted by Gazprom, noting that they would enable cross-border gas flows at competitive prices and help to better integrate gas markets in the region.
Gazprom's commitments ensure that restrictions to re-sell gas cross-border are removed once and for all and facilitate such cross-border flow of gas in Central and Eastern European gas markets; gas prices in Central and Eastern Europe reflect competitive price benchmarks; and Gazprom cannot act on any advantages concerning gas infrastructure, which it obtained from customers by having leveraged its market position in gas supply, the Commission said back then.
Bulgaria is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas to meet its domestic needs, as the bulk reaches domestic gas consumers via Bulgarian state-owned supplier Bulgargaz.
