Bulgargaz to Develop Natural Gas Expansion Project With the Help of a TDA Grant

For Immediate Release

Washington, DC (20 January 2000) The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA) today awarded a $276,000 grant to Bulgargaz EAD for a feasibility study on the expansion of the Chiren underground gas storage and the establishment of a natural gas information system in Bulgaria. The grant was signed in a ceremony by U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria Richard M. Miles and Kiril Gegov, ZZ.

Bulgaria is considered a hub of the established and growing natural gas market in the Balkans and Turkey, with incoming gas pipelines branching off to Turkey, Greece and Macedonia. As a party to international gas transit and supply agreements, Bulgargaz plans to expand and upgrade the country's pipeline system for the efficient and safe delivery of gas to its native consumers and neighbors. As part of these plans, the state-owned gas entity plans to increase the existing storage capacity at Chiren, which is currently inadequate to meet both domestic and foreign demand.

As part of the country's long term plans, Bulgargaz will be restructured, beginning with a period of deregulation in 2002 that will culminate in full privatization by 2005. The changing market structure will require more operational flexibility. In addition to evaluating and planning for the expansion of storage facilities, this TDA-funded study will also outline the process of establishing a natural gas information system to enable Bulgargaz to better manage the critical integration between transmission and storage.

The study will be conducted by the Sarkeys Energy Center at the University of Oklahoma and Enron, an international energy company based in Houston, Texas. Sarkeys, Enron and other consultants involved in the project will share in the cost of this $548,000 study.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency, an agency of the U.S. Government, helps form mutually beneficial partnerships between U.S. private sector companies and overseas project sponsors. Last year, TDA provided assistance in 67 nations around the world.

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