Russian natural gas supplies to Bulgaria and transit deliveries via the country to Turkey, Greece and FYROM returned to normal over the weekend, following a significant drop on Friday, Bulgaria's economy ministry said.
Since Saturday morning, pressure at the entry point of the country's gas transmission network has been restored to the contracted levels and Bulgaria has been receiving the quantities of natural gas it has requested, the economy ministry said in a statement.
On Friday incoming deliveries destined for the Bulgarian market, as well as transit volumes, fell by 30% from a day earlier, the state-run Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported. The supply crunch coupled with a 15% spike in domestic consumption during the ongoing winter freeze prompted the Bulgarian authorities to tap the stockpiles of the country's Chiren underground gas repository.