Bulgaria Suspends BOTAŞ Gas Deal with Türkiye Amid Cost Concerns
The Bulgaria-Türkiye gas agreement, also known as BOTAŞ, is being renegotiated after three years of discussions. The deal was signed in 2023, allowing for up to 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas to be transferred annually over 13 years.
However, the arrangement soon became a burden for Bulgaria due to its requirement to pay not only for used capacity but also for reserved capacity. This meant that Bulgaria was paying for infrastructure availability even if it wasn't using it.
In 2025, Bulgarian Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov estimated that terminating the agreement could cost more than 2 billion euros, with some estimates putting the total contractual obligation at approximately 4 billion Bulgarian lev (around $2.3 billion).
Instead of termination, Bulgaria chose to suspend the contract for 15 months and renegotiate its terms. The new arrangement means that Sofia will only pay for actual usage during this period.