Volumes of Russian gas transported via Bulgaria's TurkStream - BalkanStream pipeline in January 2025 hit a record high after Ukraine stopped transporting Russian gas through its territory.
Data from the European Gas Transmission System Operators Network (ENTSOG) shows that, on an annual basis - January 2025, compared to January 2024, the supply of Russian gas via the Bulgarian pipeline had a significant growth rate of 26.7%. This is the maximum growth rate recorded in history.
The Russian gas pipeline through Bulgaria is called TurkStream in Turkey and is called BalkanStream in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian pipeline, which came into operation on 1 January 2021, cost 2.15 billion leva (1.1 billion euros).
The gas pipeline through Bulgaria, with a capacity of 15.75 billion m3, is currently the only route to transport Russian gas to Europe, to Serbia, Romania, Greece, Northern province, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary. After Russian gas stopped transiting through Ukraine on January 1, 2025, the pipeline began receiving more gas.
Although Bulgaria does not buy Russian gas to serve domestic needs, it still has significant revenue from transit activities. According to data from the European Council for Foreign Affairs, about 15 billion cubic meters of gas will pass through the pipeline in 2024.
Euractiv's research shows that since its launch, BalkanStream has earned 1.7 billion leva (870 million euros) for transportation activities. The calculation is based on data compiled from open sources.
According to Εuractiv news site, ΕΝΤSOG said that despite the consolidation, technical capacity at the Bulgaria - Serbia border has not yet reached the necessary level. In fact, the entire capacity of the pipeline has been set by Gazprom until 2039.
Currently, Bulgarian gas company Bulgartransgaz is not concerned about Gazprom's gas transit fees. The Bulgarian pipeline section is exempted from sanctions for transactions related to gas transit with Russia's Gazprom via Gazprombank until March 20, 2025. This activity will then require another payment program. Without a solution, countries in the region will be seriously affected by gas shortages and especially Hungary due to not diversifying gas supply.
