It is reported that at the start of May Bulgarian state-owned gas distributor Bulgargaz will cut gas supplies to the insolvent Bulgarian steel mill Kremikovtzi over the issue of unpaid bills.
"At the beginning of April we were told that the future investor will be known in a week. Nothing happened. This could go on for months, but we cannot supply gas if nobody pays," Bulgargaz executive director Dimitar Gogov told local media.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, Bulgargaz originally planned to cut off gas supplies to Kremikovtzi on April 1, 2009; however, it then decided to delay the cutoff by one week, giving the government time to reach a tolling deal with the Brazilian giant CSN for the purchase of coke from Kremikovtzi.
The gas supply cut may result in the mill closing its main production facilities, which are already operating with minimum gas consumption.