Chevron Wins Bulgarian Shale Rights

Chevron CVX, the second-largest U.S. oil company, won rights from Bulgaria's government to explore for shale gas in the Eastern European country's Northeastern region. The company will pay the Bulgarian government $43 million, Bloomberg News reported. The deposits Chevron will explore hold between 300 billion and 1 trillion cubic meters of gas, Bloomberg reported, citing an initial estimate by Bulgaria's Energy & Economy Ministry. Bulgaria, like many countries in Eastern Europe, is looking to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas imports. Earlier this month, California-based Chevron said it will drill multiple wells in Poland over the next year to help that country reduce its need for Russian gas imports. Bulgaria consumes about 4 billion cubic meters of gas a year, Bloomberg reported. In addition to Bulgaria and Poland, Chevron is also working on shale gas projects in Ukraine.