Speaking to Bulgarian National Radio, US Ambassador James Warwick expressed hopes that Bulgaria will move forward to shale gas exploration.

He mentioned that the US company Chevron was ready to come to Bulgaria immediately in order to start researching potential shale gas deposits.

"I hope the government will react quickly in order to allow these surveys to find out whether there are large deposits of shale gas," he said.

Following the recent moves by Bulgaria in respect to the South Stream gas pipeline, Warlick also urged progress on the Nabucco gas pipeline.

"The Bulgarians need greater transparency in energy as a whole. The government must commit to Nabucco, which should be one of its key priorities, if not the key priority," he said.

Warwick encouraged the Bulgarian government to focus on energy security and diversification of energy supply, including on connecting Bulgaria's gas network to those of Greece, Romania and Turkey.

Source: Novinite