Bulgaria Begins Construction for Gas Link to Romania

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Bulgarian government began to build a 25-kilometer cross-border gas link with its northern neighboring county Romania, in an effort to decrease dependence on Russian gas supplies and diversify its energy sources. From mid-2013, the gas pipeline from the Romanian city of Giurgiu to the Danube port of Ruse will supply up to 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas yearly. This amount is equal to Bulgaria's annual gas needs, the Bulgarian Energy Ministry said in a statement. The planned pipeline will cost $33 million. Also, the European Union (EU) will contribute $11.1 million of the connection's total cost.

Bulgaria also plans similar natural gas connections with grids in Turkey, Greece and Serbia. "The link will contribute to the security of gas deliveries by making it possible to import both Romanian natural gas and gas from other countries in central Europe," Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev said.

In January 2009, a pricing dispute between Russia and Ukraine disrupted deliveries to at least 20 countries for two weeks amid freezing temperatures. In February 2009, the disruption also caused gas prices to go up as much as 15% in the U.K., Europe's biggest market. It also prompted Slovakia's government to consider a restart of Soviet-era nuclear reactors, which it shut down after joining the EU in 2004. At that time period, Bulgaria was left without natural gas for three weeks in the winter. In February 2011, the EU decided that each EU member state should have at least two sources of natural gas and electricity by 2014.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.