A 40 per cent increase in the price of natural gas starting January 2007 was impossible, Economy and Energy Minister Roumen Ovcharov said.

On November 15 Ovcharov presented the developments in talks with Russian energy company Gazprom on the provision of natural gas for Bulgaria, Darik Radio reported.

Bulgaria was involved in long-term negotiations, which would guarantee an agreement to meet the energy needs of the country, said Ovcharov.

During a meeting in the end of the month representatives of the ruling tripartite coalition would draft Bulgaria's official position on the talks with Gazprom, said Ovcharov.

The current agreement Bulgaria has with Gazprom is valid until 2010 but the Russian company demanded re-negotiation of the terms on several occasions.

Opportunities for obtaining natural gas from another source were limited, Ovcharov said. Developments in the Nabucco pipeline project were slow and its capacity was not specified yet, said he.