Denitsa Zlateva: A 17% increase in the price of natural gas is expected

"The forecast price of natural gas will be around 350 BGN, which is an increase of around 17 percent compared to the price for August," Denitsa Zlateva, CEO of Bulgargaz, said after the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission meeting.

According to her, this is due to the increased stock index.

"Bulgargaz fulfills the contract with Gazprom and every day we send orders for deliveries, we receive confirmation of zero quantities for the next day, the talks are on a political level. At this stage, the company is only implementing the current contract. Bank transfers cannot be made", added Denitsa Zlateva.

She stressed that the quantities for September are secured.

"In October we have the total monthly volumes under the contract with the Azeri supplier, we have a whole tanker that is secured from the US supplier and additionally there is an auction for the remaining volumes of the Gas Hub Balkan, where a competitive price is expected," Zlateva added.

She explained that for November they are discussing how to structure the auctions - whether to be monthly or for a longer period.

"It is important to secure the heating season, which means deliveries until the end of April. According to preliminary estimates to date, the prices are expected to be lower than those announced for September," Denitsa Zlateva said.