Azerbaijan has temporarily halted its contracted natural gas supply to Bulgaria following a technical issue at BP's Alpha platform in the Shah Deniz gas field.
The suspension, which lasted from January 7 to January 11, did not disrupt the regional natural gas market, as alternative supplies from Turkey’s Botas stepped in to meet demand.
Bulgargaz, Bulgaria’s state-owned gas company, confirmed that the incident incurred no additional costs for replacement gas. In a statement, the company stressed the importance of diversifying natural gas sources to mitigate such risks in the future.
The outage originated from a problem in the subsea condensate export line, prompting BP Azerbaijan to shut down production and export operations from the Shah Deniz Alpha platform. BP Azerbaijan spokesperson Tamam Bayatly assured that the platform, pipeline, and personnel remained safe, with no environmental impact reported.
"We are currently working to resolve the problem and resume normal operations as quickly as possible," Bayatly said.
Meanwhile, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has yet to comment on the issue.
Bulgaria’s natural gas supply has been under pressure since April 2022, following its decision to cease importing Russian gas due to payment disputes. The latest incident underscores the region's energy vulnerabilities and the need for reliable and diversified sources.
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