Sofia, Bulgaria: The Energy Minister of the European country – Alexander Nikolov, on Thursday, said that at present, Bulgaria is not facing difficulty to have access to gas and oil supplies from Russia, but it does not mean there is no risk in future.
Meanwhile, the experts noted that around 500 million Europeans might be facing a gas shortage if Russia does not stop attacks. The risk to supplies is financial.
At the end of every month, the gas company of Bulgaria pays an advance payment for the upcoming one. The sum amount for the month of March has yet not been fully prepaid, which means, the pending payment might be a problem in the fulfilment of the contract.
This can be the reason for the suspension of gas supply to the European nation. The government authorities of Bulgaria thought and held discussions on the matter already and will adapt their payments for Russian gas to Cold war methods.
The Energy Ministry of the European country stated that it is analysing all substitute routes and partners for the supply of natural gas.
Gazprom provides nearly 70% of the total gas supply to Bulgaria.
Veselin Iliev from the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce asserted, “Some niche products in our exports are possible to suffer – pharmacy, electrical household appliances (e.g., water heaters, which rank 6-7 in our exports to Ukraine), most investment goods, cocoa products, perfumes and cosmetics, video games”.
The previous year exports of the European country to Ukraine totalled €400 million, whereas the imports counted for around €800 million.
Apart from this, many Bulgarian firms have expressed their concern over the ongoing war situation between Russia and Ukraine. This will have a significant impact on the exports of the European nation, including as: such as medicines and electrical products, including boilers.