Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani no earlier than 2020, says SOCAR President

Bulgaria must determine the site of Azerbaijani gas reception as a part of development of the Phase 2 of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field till completion of construction of the trans-Adriatic gas pipeline (TAP), said Rovnag Abdullayev, President of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).
He added that in September 2013 Bulgargaz signed a contract to buy 1 billion cub.m. of gas as a part of the Shah Deniz-2 project and till the end of 2019 it must determine the site of gas reception – the Turkish or Greek border.
Asked about Bulgaria’s intention to buy gas before beginning of the main deliveries, Abdullayev said that there should be a technical possibility for that and this issue requires consideration.
In September 2014 SOCAR signed a protocol of intentions with Bulgargaz in Baku and the memorandum of mutual understanding with Bulgartransgaz.
It has been stated earlier that since 2016 Bulgaria plans to start purchase of Azerbaijani gas. This autumn it is expected that the final investment decision on construction of the interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria will be made.