Direct Petroleum High on Bulgarian Shale

Bulgaria Stands to Huge Investments from Shale Gas Discovery

In an interview with Novinite.com, Kolyo Tonev, Manager of Direct Petroleum Bulgaria, clearly sees great opportunity for shale gas development in Bulgaria. (Read the Full Interview  HERE)

Tonev says that Direct Petroleum, a US company specializing in natural gas extraction with a Bulgarian operations, made the discovery that some 300 B cubic meters of shale gas are lying untapped in central northern Bulgaria.

The deposit is in the so-called Etropole argillite formation and is estimated based on previous data and new sample drillings. According to Tonev, those older results were neglected because no adequate technology was available to extract gas.

Tonev said that it is not yet clear how much of the 300 B cub.m. found will actually be accessible for commercial exploitation.

But he added that, given the great size of the discovery, "but no matter how small the percentage of extractability is, the quantities produced will be significant."

Exploitation will start within 4-5 years, after a number of regular preparatory procedures are finalized.

Direct Petroleum hopes to start the first ever shale gas extraction at another site - the 6 B cub.m. strong Deventsi source - by the end of 2011.

US Ambassador to Bulgaria James Warlick told Novinite that Chevron, which is interested in exploring shale gas deposits in the country, has started the process for getting an approval from the Bulgarian government.

"With regard to Chevron the process is under way for them to be approved for exploration of shale gas. I would say it is not just about Chevron either. There are other companies, including non-American companies, that want to come to Bulgaria to explore.

I hope that that process can be expedited to the greatest extent possible. It's important for the government and people to know if there are shale gas resources under the earth, and what the quality is. That seems to be a very important piece of the puzzle with regard to energy resources for the future... The question is how long that process will take. I think Chevron of course wants to abide by all the laws but they also hope that the process can be done as expeditiously as possible,"  said Warlick.

"This is work in progress – both bilaterally and on a broader scale. The Bulgarian government already passed a decision for opening tenders for shale gas exploration in Bulgaria. The decision was sent to Brussels in order to be published in the Journal of the European Union as required by EU regulations.

I expect tenders will soon be announced," Bulgaria's Ambassador to the United States, Elena Poptodorova told Novinite.com when asked about her call for more massive American investments in Bulgaria's energy sector.

Over the summer Chevron and other American energy companies declared their interest in digging for shale gas in Bulgaria.

Ambassador Warlick has indicated that Bulgaria's potential own deposits can serve to reduce its dependence on energy imports. At present Bulgaria imports close to 100% of its natural gas from Russia.

Source: Novinite