How much does Bulgartransgaz earn from the transit of Russian gas through Bulgaria?

Nearly a month after the Interim Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov failed to answer MP Ivaylo Mirchev's question about what percentage of Bulgartransgaz revenues come from TurkStream transit fees, the minister finally provided detailed information to other questions he has received on the parliament floor.

MP Temenuzhka Petkova (GERB), for instance, asked Malinov what revenues, real costs and profits are generated from the terminals that had been placed in operation - the entry point of the Strandzha/Malkoclar gas pipeline and its exit point at Kireevo/Zajecar.

Prepping to provide detailed data, it was explained that Malinov has "adopted an approach to considering the newly commissioned infrastructure as a separate project, rather than as part of the operator's infrastructure."

So, what are the profits?

For the four years since the gas pipeline has been in operation, the reported revenues total 884 million euros. These include the binding agreements with Gazprom Export to reserve capacity for the next 20 years - until 2039 (797 million euros), as well as revenues from the free capacity at the interconnection points - 85 million euros.

The costs of servicing the gas supply connection, which includes materials, security, electricity, personnel, social costs, insurance and local taxes and fees for compressor stations Rasovo, Nova Provadia and the Stradzha gas metering station, total 16.3 million euros.

Thus, the profit of the large-scale Balkan Stream gas project for four years of operation is a total of 864 million euros.

All data specified covers the period of the binding contracts’ terms - January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2024.

Results for 2024

The revenues that Bulgartransgaz acquired from Balkan Stream in 2024 totaled 271 million euros. Of these, 245 million came from the long-term contract concluded with the Russian company, and 26 million from free capacity.

The project costs for last year totaled 4.9 million euros. Thus, the profit based on actual costs incurred came up to 266 million euros for 2024.

The expansion of TurkStream through Bulgaria, which allowed Vladimir Putin to bypass Ukraine, was built in a record short time - a year and three months.

The large-scale energy project is 474 km long, and Russian gas flows along its route, reaching Serbia and Hungary through Bulgaria. Bulgaria has not received gas from it since 2022. The price that Bulgaria paid for its construction is about 1.53 billion euros.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov