Bulgaria expressed interest in potential supplies of natural gas from Israeli fields, the Council of Ministers reported.

This was done during a meeting of Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev and Energy Minister Temenujka Petkova with the Ambassador of Israel Iri Lillian. Israel has deposits estimated to be about 1 trillion cubic meters, and the yield is planned to begin in 2019, the government's press office said.

The Bulgarian side has presented its priorities in the energy sector and, above all, the need to diversify the supply of natural gas to the country and the region of Southeastern Europe. The project for the European gas distribution center "Balkan" envisages the possibility of gassupply from different sources.

It was also discussed the progress in the construction of the gas connection with Greece as an input structure for alternative imports for the region of Southeast Europe and a natural prerequisite for the realization of the Balkan gas hub.

This link gives Bulgaria the possibility of obtaining gas from the localities in Israel - after the realization of the idea of EastMed, the gas pipeline that will connect the fields around Israel, Cyprus and the potential deposits of Greece. It can also get gas from the localities of Egypt.