Gazprom plans to enter Bulgaria's fuel retail market

Gazprom, one of the world’s largest energy companies and the sole supplier of natural gas to Bulgaria, will soon be making its presence felt in Bulgaria’s fuel retail market. The Russian giant has already expanded in Bulgaria through Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), its Serbian unit which has begun buying filling stations in the country. Andrey Delchev, chairman of the Bulgarian Petroleum and Gas Association (BPGA), said that Gazprom is targeting a 7% market share. Once this goal is achieved, NIS will become Bulgaria’s fourth biggest fuel retailer and will displace Eko-Elda Bulgaria, a subsidiary of Greek Hellenic Petroleum Group, which currently has a market share of close to 7%. Analysts say that for Gazprom to achieve its goal, the company has to buy several filling stations, even small ones. According to statistics of the Commission on Protection of Competition, there are currently 3,122 filling stations in Bulgaria, and 1,200 of these belong to companies which are members of the BPGA. (November 23, 2011)