Businesses demand urgent restoration of gas supplies from Gazprom

The employers demand that natural gas supplies under the contract with Russia's Gazprom be restored urgently. The reason is that for the time being, these supplies turn out to be at significantly lower natural gas prices compared to imported LNG fuel. In its open letter, the Association of Bulgarian Employers' Organizations sharply criticized the short-sighted ideas of the previous administration for the import of liquefied natural gas. The reason is the ambiguities surrounding the price and method of delivery, which will make the delivered fuel even more expensive. Separately, there is a risk that Gazprom will impose the "take or pay" clause, and then the delivered LNG fuel will cost us three times more.

From the open letter of the AOBR, it is also clear that there are actually three ships, not seven as announced by the resigned Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.

Here is the organization's full letter:

On July 27 of this year The Association of Bulgarian Employers' Organizations (AOBR) has once again called for urgent measures to ensure the necessary quantities and at reasonable prices of natural gas, including the urgent resumption of supplies from OOO Gazprom Export, according to the existing contract.

In response to this call of ours, on July 28 of this year the resigned Prime Minister announced his intention to conclude a contract with an American supplier unknown to the public for seven liquefied gas tankers, but "failed" to give sufficient information regarding the price conditions, delivery routes and other important circumstances that the Bulgarian business and Bulgarian society should know.

Actually, the tankers are not seven, but three - the other four are for next year and are unconfirmed. The three tankers in question for the current year would provide less than half of our shortfall. In addition, there is no guaranteed capacity - neither at the unloading terminal, nor on the route to the gas transmission network of Bulgaria.

Even if by some miracle a way is found for the liquefied gas to reach Bulgaria, it will be 35-40% more expensive than the gas under the contract with Gazprom Export. And adding the penalties that we will pay under the "take or pay" clause in our contract with Gazprom Export, this gas will cost us three times more than the gas we have, but do not take.

For all reasonably and objectively thinking people, it is more than clear that there is no alternative to restoring supplies under our existing contract with the Russian side. The frank falsehoods of an 11% increase in the price of the currency conversion have already become clear - it does not increase in price by a single cent! If the government is not aware of how the conversion is done, it should consult its colleagues in Italy, Germany, France, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.

DEAR LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

Regardless of the fact that the caretaker government has not yet been announced, it is obvious that it will have to solve urgent problems with a "flying start".

We can't waste another day! Despite its already miserably small volume compared to annual consumption, the Chiren gas terminal is the emptiest in the EU.

We are aware that we are placed in the conditions of a severe political crisis, but at the present moment, the energy and economic crisis is much more frightening, especially for the business, which cannot readjust its production to other energy carriers even for months. Let our politicians stop their reckless, unreasonable and nationally irresponsible actions and talk. Mistakes have been made, but they must be urgently corrected if we want the Bulgarian economy to survive and our homes to be warm.