Russian giant Gazprom, the sole supplier of natural gas to Bulgaria, is preparing to set foot on the local fuel retail market. The company has already launched its expansion in Bulgaria through its Serbian unit, Naftna Industrija Srbije, which has started buying filling stations in Bulgaria, according to reports of dnevnik.bg. NIS Petrol EOOD, which has already sealed contracts for the purchasing small filling stations currently operated by Geriya EOOD, Ir Max EOOD, B Plus OOD, Gand Oil OOD, Tim Oil OOD, Arena – I.T. EOOD and by two natural persons – Krasimir Georgiev and Teodora Yordanova, was registered in Bulgaria in end-August. According to Andrey Delchev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Petroleum and Gas Association (BPGA), the Russian energy giant is eyeing a market share of around 8%. If this happens, NIS Petrol will become the fourth fuel retailer in the country and will outpace Eko-Elda Bulgaria, a subsidiary of Greek Hellenic Petroleum Group, which has a market share of around 7%.
Source: Capital (18.11.2011)

Gazprom Neft, a unit of Russia's gas company Gazrpom, plans to buy a further seven petrol filling stations in Bulgaria, Capital Daily said on November 30 2011. In November, it was reported that the company was planning to acquire seven filling stations in the country through NIS Petrol, a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft's Serbian unit Naftna Industrija Srbije. At that time, the company asked Bulgaria's competition regulator to approve the acquisition of the fuel stations. NIS Petrol has now filed a similar request to gain contril over the other seven fuel stations. Gazprom Neft has so far declined to provide details about its future operations in Bulgaria. Market sources claim that the company targets to have 70 filling stations by end-2013. According to Andrei Delchev, chairperson of the Bulgarian Petrol and Gas Association, Gazprom aims to capture an eight per cent share of the country's retail fuel market.
Source: Dnevnik (02.12.2011)