August 10 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's energy regulatory body said that it fined state-owned gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz with 427,413 levs ($256,100/218,500 euro) over breaches of law regarding the financing of the construction of an extension of TurkStream natural gas pipeline on Bulgarian territory.
Following a probe into Bulgartransgaz' activities, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) found that the company had closed deals related to the respective project without the prior permission from the EWRC required by law, the regulatory authority said in a statement on Monday.
In September 2019, Bulgartransgaz signed a 1.1 billion euro ($1.3 million) contract with Saudi-led consortium Arkad for the construction of a pipeline which will transit gas supplied via TurkStream from the border with Turkey to the border with Serbia.
The offshore section of the TurkStream pipeline stretching 930 km across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey consists of two parallel strings with annual throughput capacity of 15.75 billion cubic metres of gas each. One string is intended for consumers in Turkey, while the second is intended to carry gas to customers in Europe via Bulgaria.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)