Bulgaria to Push for Lower Gas Prices during Gazprom CEO Visit
Bulgaria's government will make a new attempt to cut gas prices and sign a direct gas supply contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom during the one-day visit to Sofia of its chief executive officer Alexei Miller.
Miller will hold talks with Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Minister of Economy and Energy Traycho Traykov.
Minister Traykov negotiated a gas price reduction during his talks with Russian officials in July and forecast that prices for industry and households will be "a few percent lower", but this did not happen to be the case.
Gazprom CEO will also discuss delivery of Russian natural gas and the signing of a contract, which will imply no intermediaries in the deal. According to energy experts Bulgaria will back its demands by pointing out the newly discovered local deposits of gas near Kavarna and the agreements for construction of gas network connections with Turkey and Greece.
The future of the South Stream gas pipeline project will also be on the agenda.