NIS opens first Gazprom filling station in Bulgaria

Serbian oil and gas company NIS, a subsidiary of Russia’s Gazprom Neft, opened its first filling station in Bulgaria and plans to further expand in the country, the company said in a press release on Monday.

The station is located on the E79 international road and is the first of 40 filling stations to be opened in Bulgaria under the Gazprom brand by the end of 2013, the press release added.

Developing the retail network on the Bulgarian market is part of the company’s strategy for expansion in Europe, Gazprom Neft’s CEO Anatoly Cherner, was quoted as saying in the statement.

NIS plans to operate a network of 250 units under the Gazprom brand in Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Bosnia by the end of 2015. The company is set to open 80 of these stations in Bulgaria, SeeNews has reported.

E79 connects Sofia with Greek border checkpoint Kulata.