Bulgargaz

Bulgargaz has proposed to cut natural gas price for consumers by 23.02% for the second quarter of 2016.

The state-owned gas supplier has proposed to energy regulator KEVR to endorse a price of BGN 312.21 per 1,000 cubic metres, free of VAT and excise, for April-June period.

Bulgargaz has proposed to cut natural gas price for consumers by 20.64% for the second quarter of 2016 due to expected drop in the price of gas supplies.

Jacklen Cohen, head of Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) company, has been dropped from the board of directors of the state-owned group, the Energy Ministry has announced.

Cohen has been replaced as board member by Bulgargaz CEO Petyo Ivanov under a decision of Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova.

The price of natural gas in Bulgaria is expected to fall by about one-fifth from the beginning of April, reflecting a sustained decline in global oil prices, the head of the country's energy regulator has forecast.

Bulgaria relies almost entirely on imports of Russian gas to meet its needs.

The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (KEVR) announced on Wednesday that it is launching an inspection into Bulgaria's largest gas company Overgas.

The extraordinary inspection will examine the implementation of the company's licence obligations and the financial state of Overgas.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov on Monday described recent developments related to private gas supplier Overgas as a "plot against the government".

The head of the state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) has praised officials for helping avert a crisis in gas supplies that could have followed a halt in deliveries from Gazprom Export to Bulgaria's biggest private gas supplier.

Natural gas supplies towards all consumers in Bulgaria were running normally as of Friday, with all deliveries fulfilled according to plan.

This became clear after an emergency meeting on energy issues convened by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

Bulgarian state-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz and private Bulgarian-Russian company Overgaz have signed a contract providing for latter to receive gas from the state supplier and avoid a halt in deliveries to customers from January 1.

Russia is carrying out talks with Bulgarian-Russian company Overgas to settle "trade issues" of the past few years, but will continue delivering natural gas to Bulgaria, TASS quotes the Foreign Ministy in Moscow as saying.

"Bulgaria will not be left without natural gas," the statement also reads.