Bulgaria has obtained temporary relief from one of the region’s most burdensome gas-access agreements. On 6 July, state suppliers Bulgargaz and Türkiye’s BOTAŞ agreed to suspend the existing commercial terms of their contract for 15 months, during which Bulgaria will pay only for transmission capacity that it uses under revised conditions.
The original agreement, signed on 3 January 2023, reserved approximately 106.4 GWh of daily capacity at Turkish LNG terminals and across the BOTAŞ network. Bulgargaz was required to pay around BGN1 million, or €512,000, every day, irrespective of utilisation, under a contract extending to 2035.
That fixed obligation was equivalent to almost €187 million annually. Applying the same rate over the 15-month suspension would produce a gross payment of approximately €234 million, although this should not be treated as a confirmed saving because the amended variable charges, treatment of arrears and final renegotiation terms have not been disclosed.
Bulgargaz was reported to have accumulated approximately BGN300 million, or €153 million, of arrears by early May. Full termination under the original provisions could expose the company to damages approaching BGN3 billion, approximately €1.53 billion, making renegotiation financially preferable to unilateral withdrawal.
The agreement originally provided Bulgaria with a useful diversification option after the loss of direct Russian pipeline supply. Its weakness was the mismatch between large take-or-pay capacity and actual LNG flows. Gas imported through Türkiye became commercially unattractive when regasification and transmission charges were added, leaving Bulgargaz paying for infrastructure it rarely used.
The temporary reset improves the state supplier’s liquidity and may reduce pressure on regulated Bulgarian gas prices. It also preserves access to Turkish LNG terminals while the parties seek a permanent commercial structure. The unresolved issue is whether BOTAŞ will accept a durable reduction in fixed payments or demand compensation through higher variable tariffs, an extended contract or settlement of historic claims. The value of the Turkish route will now be measured by actual gas flows and competitive delivered prices rather than unused capacity on Bulgargaz’s balance sheet.
