Procedure for Bulgaria's Tervel Block tender now underway

Bulgaria

The tender procedure for oil and natural gas prospecting and exploration in Bulgaria's offshore Tervel Block area (previously known as the Teres Block) is now underway after the tender's recent publication in the Official Journal of the European Union on 30 March 2020.

Interested companies and individuals can purchase tender documentation from the Ministry of Energy (8 Triaditsa Street, Sofia) for a 120-day period after its publication. The price of the documentation is BGN 10,000 (EUR 5,000), payable to the Ministry of Energy. When receiving documentation, recipients must sign a confidentiality declaration for non-disclosure of all tender information.

Applications for participation can be submitted up to 140 days after the publication and proposals for the performance of the tender requirements can be submitted up to 155 days after publication. Candidates planning to participate in the tender must provide the Ministry of Energy with a deposit of BGN 15,000.

In order to participate in the tender, candidates must have the necessary management and financial capacity for executing the prospecting and exploration activities and should not be registered in a tax-haven country or jurisdiction.

In order to prove compliance with the minimal requirements for management capacity, candidates should provide the following: recommendations from business partners; and proof of experience in managing at least one offshore prospecting and exploration project for oil or natural gas, or a project involved in the extraction of underground resources.

Regarding financial capacity requirements, candidates must prove net revenues of at least EUR 150 million in sales over the past three financial years. Alternatively, candidates can also prove compliance with this requirement by providing the following: a recommendation from a bank or financial institution that it possesses the necessary financial resources for performance of the tender; or a letter of intent from a bank or financial institution that the institution will provide the necessary financial resources.

Both management and financial capacity can be proved through third parties.

The offers from candidates will be evaluated based on their proposed work programmes, the amounts to be allocated for environment protection and the bonus to go to the state.

The tender procedure will be completed in full, even if there is only one participant.

For more information on this tender, please contact our local CMS experts: Kostadin Sirleshtov, Denitsa Dudevska and Zornitsa Stoykova.