The two US businessmen approached the Bulgarian government to discuss the possibility of investing in state-owned underground gas storage, mainly Russian gas.
The head of the investment team is Stephen P. Lynch, who is looking to buy the Nord Stream gas pipeline, and investor Fei Wang.
A group of American businessmen are considering ways to participate in the Bulgarian government's multi-million-dollar plan to double the capacity of Chiren - the country's only underground gas storage facility.
The group wants to exploit additional storage capacity in Chiren to turn Bulgaria into a gas hub for Eastern Europe.
Containers are a strategic asset in the gas industry, helping miners handle major seasonal fluctuations in demand and take advantage of price fluctuations: Buying gas at low prices and leaving the warehouse at higher prices.
Businessmen Lynch and Wang are expected to meet with top government officials in Sofia this week to discuss how to collect data on Chiren and conduct an assessment.
Industry sources pointed out that this meeting is for exploration only, with no solid agreement.
Lynch's new energy project in Chiren comes amid tensions between the European Commission and several Eastern European countries that have been buying more and more Russian fuel in recent quarters and have announced their intention to continue buying Russian gas.
Bulgaria, an EU member and NATO member, is expected to play a key role in the debate because TurkStream - the last gas pipeline to bring Russian gas to Eastern European countries passes through Bulgaria.
This spring, the Bulgarian government approached a number of US investors with a proposal to buy shares of Turkey's TurkStream, fuelling speculation among opposition parties that Bulgaria is trying to protect Russian gas flows by adding US involvement.
Lynch has extensive experience in deals related to Russia. In the early 2000s, he led a group of investors to buy back assets of Yukos Oil. Three years ago, he made a deal to buy a Swiss subsidiary of Sberbank, Russia's largest lending bank, after the US Treasury Department lit up a green light to buy sanctioned assets.
Earlier this year, he became the focus of attention in Europe when he sought to restore Russian gas flows through the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
Officials in both Germany and the EU have clearly stated that they will oppos the initiative. In May this year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that he would ensure that Nord Stream 2 could not be put into operation.
Chiren warehouse was built in the 1970s. A €285 million plan to double Chiren's capacity was launched in 2021 but was delayed in 2024 due to an investigation into alleged misuse of EU money. Bulgaria plans to launch a new bidding process to expand Chiren, depending on the results of the investigation.
