Bulgartransgaz

The Austrian company Habau is to complete the long-anticipated first gas interconnector between Romania and Bulgaria by August 2016 after it signed a contract with the gas operators of the two countries - Transgaz and Bulgartransgaz in Sofia on Wednesday.

Bulgartransgaz and Transgaz, the gas transmission operators of Bulgaria and Romania, have signed a contract with Austria's Habau PPS Pipeline Systems SRL for the construction of the last section of a gas gas link between the two southeast European countries.

The gas transmission operators of Bulgaria and Romania, Bulgartransgaz and Transgaz, will sign a contract with Austria's Habau PPS Pipeline Systems SRL for the construction of the section of a gas interconnection under the Danube river.

The signing ceremony will take place on Wednesday afternoon in Sofia, Bulgaria's Energy Ministry announced on Tuesday.

Gas grid operator Bulgartransgaz has announced it is ready with a draft set of balancing rules for the gas market, a move that constitutes the first step toward liberalization.

Balancing gas purchase contracts, the rules themselves, and other documents are available (only in Bulgarian as of the moment) on Bulgartransgaz's website.

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 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.

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has instructed state-owned Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz to prepare to supply natural gas to Overgas in case Russia's Gazprom Export halted deliveries to the Bulgarian-Russian joint stock company.

Bulgaria said on Wednesday that supplies of Russian natural gas to the country and the volumes for transit to its neighbours are flowing normally - several hours after Russia said it has stopped supplying gas to Ukraine.

Bulgaria, which is almost entirely dependent on Russia for its gas imports, receives them via a transit pipeline crossing Ukraine and Romania.

A new high-pressure gas pipeline was opened in Bulgaria on Friday, linking the Danube city of Silistra to the national gas transmission network.

Bulgaria's state-owned gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz EAD has been issued an act for establishment of the construction works' fitness for operation (Act 16) for the Dobrich - Silistra gas pipeline.

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said on Facebook that he had been informed about the development by Bulgargaz late on Monday.