Contract to be signed with US Chevron Corp. for shale gas prospecting in Bulgaria

The contract for shale gas prospecting and exploration will be signed with the US Chevron Corp. within days,” Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traicho Traikov said yesterday during a discussion. Experts are currently negotiating the details of the contract. Some time ago, Traikov said that Chevron Corp. was ready to invest €30 mln in prospecting for shale gas in the region of Novi Pazar for five years. According to the company’s preliminary estimates, the gas deposits are in the range of 300 bn cu m to 1 trl cu m. “Soon, the opportunities for exploring for gas in new areas of Northern Bulgaria will be announced,” Traikov added. According to him, there are no risks to human health when prospecting for shale gas and if it comes down to commercial extraction, an environmental assessment of the projects will be made. The risk in the extraction of conventional gas is not greater than in any industrial project.

“After the permit for gas prospecting, the technology will be revealed to the public,” promised Traikov. “There are 30,000 gas drillings around the world and only 80 accidents,” said Yordan Kirkov, State Inspector in the Natural Resources and Concessions department at the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism.

Minister Traikov added that a joint letter with Romania to the European Commission was being prepared regarding the revealing of spare capacities of our transit gas pipelines. The letter will comply with the terms and requirements of the EU. The EU liberalisation package stipulates that the countries from the community should declare their spare capacities for transportation of gas and ensure access to the network for third traders.

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