OREANDA-NEWS. On May 07, 2007 at the Gazprom Headquarters, Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee met with Rumen Ovcharov, Economy and Energy Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, reported the press-centre of Gazprom. The parties discussed the progress with the accords achieved as well as the issues for further development of Russian-Bulgarian cooperation in the oil and gas sector. Particularly, the meeting examined the prospects to extend Russian natural gas transit via the territory of Bulgaria to the third countries in a long term perspective.


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Russian natural gas supplies were first launched to Bulgaria in 1974. Over 2006 Bulgaria received a total of 3,2 bcm of Russian gas. At present Gazprom is the only gas exporter to Bulgaria. Natural gas is transited by Gazprom via Bulgaria to Turkey, Greece and Macedonia. Gazprom export and Bulgargaz have inked a Gas Transit Contract based on an Agreement dated 27 April 1998. In December 2006 the contract was prolonged from 2010 until 2030. The parties also signed a package of documents identifying the mechanism & forms of switching over to cash payments for Russian natural gas transit via Bulgaria.