Bulgarians Protest Shale Gas Development

Following recent anti-shale gas demonstrations in several towns, councilors in the northeastern Bulgarian city of Dobrich have decided to hold a local referendum on exploring for shale gas in the region.

Protests were held Wednesday in Dobrich, as well as in nearby Black Sea major city Varna, and the capital city of Sofia.

Environmentalists and local residents fear that the shale gas extraction technique of hydraulic fracturing might pollute soils and groundwater in Dobrudzha, one of the most fertile regions in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria's ambitious plans to develop shale gas production, billed as a way to reduce dependency on Russian supplies, cut energy costs and even generate profit for the EU's poorest nation, has spurred heated debate about its possible environmental impacts

The opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party has said that its presidential candidate would initiate a national referendum on shale gas drilling and production in Bulgaria.

Chevron Corp. recently won a tender for a shale gas deposit in northeastern Bulgaria, offering the government 30-million-euros to explore a concession in a large section of Dobrudzha, in the north east of the country.

Bulgarian Economy, Energy, and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov had commented that  estimates provided by bidders in the tender process indicated the deposit contains between 300 billion and 1 trillion cubic meters of shale gas, which should be able to guarantee its domestic consumption of natural gas for the next 1000 years.

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Bulgaria Considers Benefits & Risks of Shale Gas

Shale gas battle in Bulgaria – high stakes for Europe (European Energy Review - registration required)