26.01.2018
Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and the Head of the Royal Dutch Shell International Oil and Gas Department Andrew Brown discussed the development of gas projects on the territory of Bulgaria. Their meeting took place at the Davos Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum.
Prime Minister Borissov briefed Andrew Brown on the development of the project to build the European gas hub “Balkan”. He stressed the importance of the project, pointing out that it will contribute to the diversification of gas sources and routes in Bulgaria and Southeastern Europe. Andrew Brown congratulated the Bulgarian Prime Minister for the initiative to build such a gas infrastructure and to develop the gas network in Bulgaria.
Borissov pointed out that future extraction from the Han Kubrat block in the Black Sea is one of the options for diversification of sources. Andrew Brown has been expecting the company to begin probing the block by the end of this or early next year. The company's search and exploration license was granted by the Council of Ministers in October 2015, and according to preliminary company studies, the expectation is that oil fields will be found but there is also data on natural gas.
The conduct of search and research competitions in the deep Black Sea was among the first decisions of the government in the energy sector. Increasing local extraction is one of the leading conditions for ensuring energy security and independence.
The representative of Royal Dutch Shell congratulated Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on taking over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union and wished him success with the priority topics.
