Winners of 'TurkStream 2' Bulgarian Tenders to be Named

State-owned gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz will announce March 29 the winners of the major contracts for the TurkStream 2 extensions across its territory.

Tenders were submitted under the public procurement act for the detailed design phase, construction and commissioning of project which will run to the border with Serbia. Gazprom and a local state company will build the Serbian section of the line. 

The 15.75bn m³/yr TurkStream 2 line will carry Russian gas under the Black Sea and through Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and into Austria. Russia says that, in conjunction with Nord Stream 2, the southern Ukraine-bypass route will make its gas deliveries to Europe – its most important source of revenue – more reliable from next year. It also gives Gazprom a greater presence in the Balkans and particularly Serbia, which enjoys very good relations with Moscow. Gazprom is building a combined-cycle power plant there, which will run on Russian gas.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller visited Belgrade March 19 to meet the country's president, Alexandar Vucic and the two "paid special attention to the construction of a gas trunkline through Serbia from its border with Bulgaria to its border with Hungary."