Bulgaria’s transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz and the association DZZD UGS DRILLING CHIREN signed a contract for the design, construction and commissioning of ten new exploitation and three observation wells, which will increase Chiren UGS’s operational safety and capacity.
Ten new high flowrate exploitation and three observation wells are to be constructed, as well as 10 new gatherings connecting the exploitation wells to the compressor station. The exact location of each well will be determined based on an update of the 3D digital model of the Chiren geological structure and following a modelling. Each of the new 10 exploitation and 3 observation wells is expected to be located on a site with a surface of approximately 100 square metres after the drilling. The selected consortium will bring together companies from the United States, Europe, Turkey and Kazakhstan.
“The storage expansion project was launched thirteen years ago and today we have brought an international team for its successful implementation”, Bulgartransgaz Executive Director Vladimir Malinov said at the event. He informed that there are ongoing talks with financing institutions from the USA to attract additional financial resources.
“Upon completion of the expansion, the storage facility will be able to store 1 bcm of natural gas – approximately one-third of the country’s consumption. This will guarantee a significant volume of blue fuel for Bulgarian consumers”, Energy Minister Rosen Hristov stressed. In his words, this will enable our country to take advantage of market fluctuations.
The Chiren UGS capacity expansion project has strategic importance for improving energy security and boosting the competition and liquidity of the natural gas market in the country and the region. The project has a status of a “project of common interest” and is part of all PCI lists of the European Union. Confirming its importance in terms of the security of energy supply for the country and the region, the project has the status of a priority project of the Three Seas Initiative.
