Energy

Russia's Lukoil has announced it is selling its filling station networks in Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.

"The decision to sell the assets was taken as part of the effort to optimize Lukoil's business in petroleum product marketing," the company said in a statement.

Austrian energy concern OMV has assured restrictive EU measures against Russia will not put a wheel on the South Stream gas pipeline project.

The company's CEO Gerhard Roiss was quoted by Austrian daily Kurier as comparing a ban on the construction of South Stream to "shooting oneself".

He dismissed any likelihood that sanctions could have an impact on the project.

An energy expert has said that the agreement with US Westinghouse on Kozloduy NPP's unit7 erodes Bulgaria's position in the arbitration case with Atomstroyexport over Belene NPP.

Westinghouse Electric announced on Friday that it had completed a shareholder agreement for an AP1000 unit at the Kozloduy NPP.

KOSTOLAC - Production has resumed at the Drmno open-pit coal mine in Kostolac, eastern Serbia, with the daily output already at 15,000 tons, Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Aleksandar Antic said on Saturday, announcing that rainwater should be pumped out of the mine within 30 days.

 Gov’t examines contingency strategies if natural gas supply is disrupted or farming exports are affected

By Chryssa Liaggou and Dimitra Manifava

The government is keeping a close eye on developments in the Russia-Ukraine crisis in a bid to respond to any adverse effects it may have both on natural gas and oil imports, as well as on exports of agricultural products to Russia.

Bulgaria's Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed that 359 da of woodland were sold to South Stream Bulgaria in July.

The ministry's press office made the announcement after the investigative website Bivol.bg published a report on the deal.

The offshore South Stream gas pipeline section will not have a substantial impact on the environment and the socio-economic sphere in the region of Bulgaria's Varna.

The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report was prepared by international experts from URS Infrastructure and Environment UK Limited.

The European Commission is initiating a meeting between EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak in Moscow this week.

The two are to discuss gas supplies to Ukraine and EU countries.

However, the talks may not take place as Russia has not yet responded, according to reports of ITAR-TASS, as cited by econ.bg.

Montenegro's Economy Minister Vladimir Kavaric announced that his country desired to be included in the South Stream gas pipeline project.

Bulgaria is the poorest EU member state and the one plagued by the lowest rate of energy security, according to a report of local NGO Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD).

The CSD used data of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy for the 75 largest energy-consuming countries.