The Bulgarian state-owned gas distributor Bulgargaz has temporarily resumed gas supplies to local insolvent steel mill Kremikovtzi for a period of ten days.
Accordingly, the prepaid gas supplies began on June 4 and are being used by Kremikovtzi for the processing of scrap under contract. The money from this work will be used to pay the May salaries of the mill's workers.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, after several delays, in May 2009 Bulgargaz suspended gas supplies to Kremikovtzi over unpaid bills, following the plant's failure to attract a strategic investor. Kremikovtzi's gas supply debts stand at BGN 100 million (approx. $72.3 million). Some 1,200 employees have so far been made redundant or have been forced to retire.
A meeting of Kremikovtzi's creditors is scheduled for June 12, 2009 to decide on the mill's future.