SOFIA, Bulgaria, May 11 (UPI) -- The Bulgarian government said it might go against the grain and try to land a short-term natural gas contract with Russian energy company Gazprom.
The natural gas contract between Bulgaria and Gazprom expires in 2012. The Russian gas monopoly has until the end of June to outline terms of an extension to the current contract.
Mariy Kosev, the vice minister of energy in Bulgaria, said Tuesday Sofia might look for a short-term deal if June negotiations don't turn out favorably, the Sofia News Agency reports.
Sofia notes this runs against standard Gazprom practices of securing and then extending long-term contracts for natural gas deliveries.
"We have to be careful not to hurry signing contracts with the Russian side that will bind us for a longer time, if we are serious about diversifying our energy sources," Kosev was quoted as saying.
Europe is keen to break Russia's grip on the regional energy sector. The Kremlin, however, is pursuing alternative routes for European deliveries through its Nord Stream and South Stream natural gas pipelines.
South Stream would move 2.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to Europe per year after it passes through the Turkish waters of the Black Sea. It would branch into two sections -- one to Greece and Italy and another through Austria -- once it reaches Bulgarian territory.
