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History

Why BNGA?

The idea about the creation of our association emerged in the early 90s at a time, when Bulgaria was in a state of heavy economic crisis. Particularly dire was the situation in the energy sector, where the country was burdened by heavy expenses and was not utilizing effectively the energy resources of the country. The period was marked by frequent blackouts and fuel shortages. At the same time, the employment of hard and liquid fossil fuels as principal energy sources caused environmental degradation in Bulgaria.
It was in the context of these difficult circumstances, that the natural gas was perceived as an alternative, environment-friendly energy source with a wide range of application. Even so, the gasification of the country was impeded for several reasons: the lack of state policy stimulating the use of more effective and ecological energy sources; the absence of up-to-date legal basis; the existence of a monopoly over the market and the pricing of natural gas; the ineffective investment policies in the sector; the deficiency of adequate public information about the advantages of using natural gas; etc.

How did it all start?

In order to deal with the situation, a group of specialists in the area of natural gas including Atanas Krustanov, Petar Gioshev, Ivan Dimitrov, Liuben Mashkin and Stoyan Stoyanov recognized the need of urgent and coordinated actions in the sector. Thus, in 1994 they initiated the creation of an organization of companies and individuals involved in the Bulgarian natural gas industry under the name of "Association Natural Gas". In 2008 the General assembly of the association renamed it to "Bulgarian Association Natural Gas" (BNGA), as it is known today.

What have we achieved so far?

In the last 25 years we have managed to establish ourselves as a leading sectoral organization with strong positions both nationally and internationally.

Nationally, we are the most active initiator of amendments and changes in the Bulgarian natural gas-related legislation such as the Energy Act and the Energy Efficiency Act. This is due to our permanent contacts with the state administration and to the direct participation of our experts in the preparation, amendment and update of legislative acts and documents.

Internationally, the association regularly delivers reports and presentations at ecology seminars, energy forums, TC 234-Gas Distribution of the European Committee for Standardization, and other natural gas related events.