SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 29 (SeeNews) – U.S. energy group Chevron said on Thursday it will not be pursing an exploration programme in Bulgaria.
“The ban on hydraulic fracturing imposed by the Bulgarian parliament in 2012 following Chevron’s successful bid for an exploration permit in northeast Bulgaria remains in place," Chevron's spokesperson for Europe, Cam Van Ast, told SeeNews in an email. "The uncertainty over Chevron’s ability to explore for natural gas from shale in Bulgaria means the opportunity is no longer competitive with other opportunities in our global portfolio.”
The company has closed its office in Sofia.
Chevron continues to explore and evaluate investment opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe, Chevron's spokesperson added.
At the beginning of 2012, the Bulgarian government cancelled Chevron’s five-year permit for oil and gas exploration, which was granted in June the previous year. The licence withdrawal came after environmentalists staged protests against shale gas exploration and extraction in big cities across the country.