Chevron exits Bulgaria; will concentrate its energy on Romania and Poland

Newsroom 28/05/2014 | 10:07

U.S. oil company Chevron is withdrawing from Bulgaria, according to economica.net. Chevron has not been active in Bulgaria for several years. In 2011 the company received a permit to extract shale gas in northeastern Bulgaria, but then a moratorium was imposed on activities using fracking for gas extraction in Bulgaria.

“No self-respecting company can afford to lose money in the absence of perspective and the apparent lack of interest of a number of Bulgarian governments in the development of one of the few options for local oil and gas … Unlike other companies, Chevron can not be “operated” by a Bulgarian or Balkan way, applying the methods that worked well elswhere by motivating political circles and civil servants” said in his blog energy expert and Bulgaria’s former ambassador to Moscow Ilian Vassilev.

Despite exiting Bulgaria, Chevron will continue its projects in Romania and Poland.

The group has already started exploration activities in some of the areas under concession in Romania and experimental production is expected to begin this year. According to local media, revenue for the Romanian state will be between 3.5 percent and 13 percent depending on the size of the deposits.

Attempts by the company to start operations were interrupted twice last year when anti-shale gas protests blocked the company’s machines .

In its new strategy, the company focuses on the countries of Eastern and Central Europe, such as Poland, Romania and Ukraine, which has very favourable climate for the realization of the necessary but risky operations.