go to the original language article
SOFIA – The Bulgarian state gas company “Bulgargaz” has announced that it has initiated arbitration proceedings against the Russian company “Gazprom Export” seeking damages over 400 million euros.
The proceedings have been filed before the Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. The reason for the claim is the unilateral cessation of natural gas deliveries at the end of April 2022, days after Russia invaded Ukraine.
At that time, Russia asked its European customers to pay for natural gas deliveries in rubles instead of the currencies stipulated in the signed long-term contracts – dollars and euros. Bulgaria refused to comply, and in response, Russia unilaterally stopped deliveries.
Bulgaria and Poland were among the first countries for which Russia disrupted supply. Subsequently, Moscow also stopped deliveries through the “Nord Stream” pipeline. These actions by Russia led to a record increase in the price of natural gas and energy in many European countries.
The cessation of Russian supplies prompted Bulgaria to turn for the first time to importing the main necessary quantities of gas from other countries. It connected its pipelines with Greece through a project financed by the EU, thus for the first time the Bulgarian side broke almost its complete dependency on Russian imports.
Later, Bulgaria joined as a 20% shareholder in the liquefied gas terminal near Alexandroupolis, which is expected to be ready by October this year. Through the terminal, deliveries of liquefied gas from the USA and other countries for consumers in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, and Ukraine are expected. (09.07.2024)