Russia's Gazprom will take part in the talks to be held with the Bulgarian Government on the construction of the Balkan gas hub and the possible transportation of Russian gas along the new, shortened variant of the South Stream gas pipeline.


The company's representatives will take part in a two-day conference in Varna organized jointly by the Bulgarian Government and the European Commission. The conference is dedicated to the construction of the Balkan gas hub. Together with Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, the conference will be attended by Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev, Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, and by Klaus-Dieter Borchardt, director of the EU Internal Energy Market [at the EU Commission's General Directorate for Energy]. The gas hub's business model will be presented at the conference in Varna, and the businesses will have the opportunity of applying for participation in the project with investments or the provision of capacity in the storage facility. The meetings in Varna will be held on 4 and 5 September.


Gazprom shows an interest mainly in the supply of Russian gas to the Balkan hub as a new variant of the South Stream gas pipeline. The project envisages that the gas pipeline should pass along the bottom of the Black Sea. The project has regained popularity after EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker sent a letter to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, saying that the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline is possible if the EU rules are observed. After this letter, Borisov and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on the resumption of talks between the joint working groups. However, Putin required solid guarantees for the construction of the gas pipeline.


The conference in Varna will be attended by another 16 gas and oil giants. The companies that have confirmed their participation in the conference are British Petroleum, OMV Gas and Power, Germany's RWE consortium, Allianz Capital Partners. Other potential suppliers from the Houston-based Texas Cheniere Energy company, which is one of the biggest producers of liquefied natural gas, will also take part in the conference, as will Azerbaijan's oil company SOCAR [State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic], which is even interested in investing in the construction of the Bulgarian gas network and playing on the Bulgarian energy market. Italy is sending the CHAM company, which was established as an arm of the giant Eni company but subsequently became an independent player on the gas market.


The conference will be attended by the Greek representatives DEPA [natural gas supply corporation of Greece] and DESFA [natural gas transmission system operator in Greece] as potential gas suppliers. Bulgaria intends to invest in the construction of a terminal for liquefied gas in the Greek Alexandroupolos port, and it is from there along the Greek transit network and the interconnector between the two countries that the gas will reach the Balkan hub.


Eustream from Slovakia, another possible supplier of natural gas to the hub, has also confirmed participation in the conference in Varna. Another participant is AGB Pie Pline that is constructing the TAP [Trans Adriatic Pipeline] gas pipeline from Turkey to Greece. The company is also among the potential fuel supplier for the hub. Among the possible investors that will attend the conference in Varna, organized by the Bulgarian Government and the European Commission is the Rothschild Bank, which provides financing to energy projects as a priority. Germany's Mangold Consulting has also shown an interest in participating in the gas hub.


Among the potential clients of the Balkan gas hub that will take part in the conference in Varna are Srbijagas [state-owned natural gas provider in Serbia] and Romania's Transgas [operator of the national natural gas transmission system in Romania].

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