Gazprom Group managed to sell its stake in the Bulgarian joint venture Overgas Inc. the company itself, having received 100 million euros for it. The Russian gas monopoly has been trying to get rid of this business for five years, Interfax reports.
Overgas was created in 1995 together with the Bulgarian entrepreneur Sasho Donchev. Through it, Gazprom supplied gas to the republic until 2012. For a long time, the authorities of the republic tried to get rid of such mediation, and only in 2013 did Bulgargaz directly receive Russian gas.
In 2016, deliveries through Overgas ceased completely, and the company initiated proceedings in the International Arbitration Court of the International Chamber of Commerce. She later complained about Gazprom to the European company, accusing the Russian company of violating antitrust laws.
Only in August 2020, the parties agreed on the terms of termination of the partnership, and on January 27, 2021, the transaction was completed. Gazprom’s share in Overgas dropped to zero.
In March, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said that the republic had managed to get the maximum discount on gas from Gazprom in the new contract. He called the agreement a gift from Russia, and Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova thanked the European Commission for the intervention, which made it possible to achieve an excellent result.