Russia suspends gas supplies to Bulgaria on April 27. It’s not fatal yet
Unilaterally, from April 27, the Russian company Gazprom will suspend gas supplies to Bulgaria. The announcement was received late tonight at Bulgargaz, and no reasons were given for the Russians’ decision. The Bulgarian side has fully fulfilled its obligations and is fulfilling all payments required under this contract, in a timely manner, strictly and in accordance with its clauses “, responsible from the state gas supplier.
Although this country is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas, this will not have a critical impact on Bulgaria, as the heating season is over, namely district heating is the largest consumer of gas in our country. Other major consumers are glass and chemical plants, which can use alternative fuels such as ammonia or reduce temporary production. The problem may be due to the activities of Lukoil Neftochim, which uses gas in oil refining, but the quantities in Chiren and the import of Azeri gas will ensure its activity.
Earlier in the day, it was announced that Russia was suspending supplies to Poland and possibly other “enemy countries” from the EU. This reflection in the last hours of trading in gas exchanges, where there was a price increase of over 10%.
Probably the suspension of the supply is related to the effect of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to pay for gas in rubles, which, however, contradicts the signed long-term contracts. In addition, with information about “Capital” from several sources, the payment from the country of “Bulgargaz” to “Gazprom” for April was ordered at the beginning of the month and after a few weeks was successful in recent days. Which means that the Russians made this move for purely political reasons – to seek pressure against the background of Russia’s military action in Ukraine.