The moratorium on shale gas exploration and extraction using hydraulic fracturing is only a temporary measure which hinders economic activity, the country's environment minister said.
In January 2012 Bulgaria imposed an indefinite ban on shale gas exploration and extraction using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The ban applies to Bulgaria's whole territory andthe country's Black Sea territorial waters, carrying a fine of 100 million levs.
Each project should be considered individually, and if found to be safe and in compliance with the country's environmental laws, it should be given the green light, Iskra Mihailova told private bTV station. The ban is no solution, she added.