Eni

Electricity from Bulgaria in exchange for gas from Azerbaijan - such an agreement was made during the visit of the Minister of Economy and Industry Nikola Stoyanov to Baku. On BNT, the minister said that with such a scheme - barter gas for electricity, we could receive quantities in the next 4-5 months, when we need it most in the winter.

Gas supplies from Russia to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline will not be fully resumed until the "collective West" lifts the sanctions imposed on Moscow after the start of the invasion of Ukraine. This was announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the "Financial Times".

Financial markets have been rattled by the shutdown of Russia's Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, as energy pressure on European economies intensifies as winter approaches. The euro fell to a two-year low this morning in early trading on Monday after Russian energy company Gazprom extended the shutdown of its gas pipeline to Germany on Friday night.

A worker works at the construction site of the Balkan Stream gas pipeline near the village of Kamenovo, Bulgaria, 01 June 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/VASSIL DONEV

"This is inevitable and these negotiations will be hard," Hristov told local media, saying that Bulgaria will have no gas resources after September.

A major gas discovery in the Cronos-1 field, block 6 offshore Cyprus has been announced by energy companies TotalEnergies and ENI.

According to ENI's official announcement, preliminary estimates in the Cronos-1 field of block 6 indicate the existence of 2.5 tcf of natural gas.

A decision on whether Bulgaria will negotiate with the Russian monopoly "Gazprom" can be expected in a week at the earliest.

Such negotiations will only take place if it turns out that Bulgaria will not be able to secure all the necessary quantities of gas for the winter, confirmed Energy Minister Rosen Hristov:

Starting today, Bulgaria will start receiving the entire quantities of natural gas under the contract with Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Energy informed BNR. However, this will not happen through the Bulgarian-Greek gas connection, but at the temporary delivery point Nea Mesimvria. The interconnector is expected to be ready in the fall, according to the ministry's response.

Russia's Gazprom announced on Tuesday that it was suspending gas supplies to the Danish company Orsted and Shell Energy under its gas supply contract with Germany. The reason is the refusal to pay for the raw material in Russian rubles, Reuters reported.

Italian energy giant Eni signed a memorandum of understanding on May 26 with Algeria's Sonatrach to boost gas exploration in the north African nation, as Rome seeks to reduce its reliance on Russia.

It was penned during a state visit by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to Rome, a few weeks after Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi made his own trip to Algiers.

How will Europe pay for gas from Russia - in euros, dollars or rubles? In recent days, information has emerged that Germany and Italy have agreed to pay for Russian gas to Gazprom in rubles and will not stop their supplies. This is not true.