Bulgaria, Bulgargaz has proposed lower wholesale natural gas price to be applied in June 2022.

The statement from the company said that the price for June should be around 72.2 euros/MWh, which is 12.9 % lower compared to the price approved for May – 82.8 euros/MWh, which was an increase of 13.7 % compared to April.

The proposal takes into account the provisions of the Bulgargaz contract for import of natural gas from Azerbaijan via the Southern Gas Corridor from Greece, as well as a contract for the delivery of liquefied natural gas. Bulgaria is expecting two LNG cargoes from the United States with some 200 million cubic meters of gas to arrive in June.

In March 2020, Bulgargaz and Gazprom Export have finalized an agreement on 40.3 % reduction of the price at which Russia supplies natural gas to Bulgaria, backdated to 5 August 2019. Bulgaria was the last of eight EU Member States of Eastern Europe to strike a deal on a price cut with Gazprom, in the wake of a settlement reached between the European Commission and the Russian monopolist on an anti-trust investigation.

The agreement with Gazprom prompted the change in determining regulated wholesale gas prices, which is now set on monthly, rather than quarterly basis.

However, in late April 2022, Gazprom halted gas supply to Bulgaria, citing the country’s refusal to pay for supplied gas in rubles as the reason.