March 15 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz signed a 2.3 million levs ($1.4 million/1.2 million euro) contract for drafting a detailed feasibility study on the proposed Balkan gas hub project with a tie-up between Bulgaria’s EMG consult and Swiss-based AF consult, the energy ministry said on Thursday.
The feasibility study aims to assess the commercial and technical viability of the project for construction of Balkan European gas distribution centre and define the business model for its implementation, the energy ministry said in a statement.
The consortium must submit an interim report on its findings within 40 days, while the final report has to be completed within a 110 day-period.
In December 2014, the Bulgarian government proposed to the European Commission to build an EU-funded regional gas hub near the Black Sea port of Varna to dispatch gas deliveries to the rest of Europe - to Greece, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and, via those countries, to EU member states in central and western Europe, as well as to non-EU Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Gas can be fed into the hub from Russia, from Bulgaria's potential gas deposits in the Black Sea or, via interconnectors with Greece and Turkey, from the Caspian region or the Eastern Mediterranean, or from the Greek and Turkish LNG terminals, the government said at the time. The gas hub could also be supplied via an interconnector with Romania, which is estimated to have significant deposits in the Black Sea shelf.
Bulgaria is heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies. The country imports almost all the gas it needs to cover its domestic needs via a single pipeline from Ukraine through Romania.