Reuters: Bulgaria Agrees Deal to Cut Price of Russian Gas Imports by 40%

Bulgaria has agreed a 40% cut in the price of gas it imports under its long-term contract with Russia, its dominant gas supplier, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Bulgaria, which relies on Russian imports for more than 80% of its gas needs, is the last of eight east European countries to agree a price cut after Brussels reached an anti-trust agreement with gas giant Gazprom in 2018.
Borissov told reporters it had been the biggest and will help the Balkan country's small and open economy. Market analysts said it was good news but long overdue as Bulgaria has been paying almost 50% more for Russian gas compared to its European peers for the past several years.
"This morning Gazprom sent us the signed contract, which has the biggest price cut from all the countries that renegotiated their contracts. We have a 40% decrease," Borissov said.
Under the deal with Brussels, Gazprom agreed to allow its customers to ask for lower prices when these diverge from benchmarks such as those in Western European gas markets.
The new price will be valid from August last year and Bulgargaz will reimburse its clients, mainly large industrial companies and gas retailers with 150 million levs.
The price cut was achieved after Gazprom agreed to link a significant part of the price to European gas hubs. It partly remains linked to oil prices.
"It took a long time for Sofia to finally face Gazprom on prices," said Martin Vladimirov with independent think-tank Center for the Study of Democracy.
Bulgaria imports 2.9 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year from Russia under a long-term contract valid through 2022.
The negotiations have been long and difficult and were helped by the European Commission, said Nikolai Pavlov,...