SOFIA -- Bulgaria is suffering from sharply reduced Russian gas supplies due to scheduled pipeline repairs on Moldova's territory, the Bulgarian Energy Committee chairman said Tuesday.


Nikita Shervashidze said gas shortages could cut the capital's central heating system and damage some industrial plants' operations mainly in the field of chemicals.


"All gas consumers in Bulgaria had been warned of the decreased gas flow so that they could replace it with fuel oil if they have it and thus keep operations running," Shervashidze said.


Gas supplies are already below normal levels and the deputy director of Bulgaria's gas monopoly Bulgargaz, Alexander Belovezhdov, said the Russian side had told them by fax of a new cut, which would leave Bulgaria with 30-40 percent of normal supplies from Friday to Sunday.


Russian supplies, which come to Bulgaria through a pipeline over Ukraine, Moldova and Romania, would be brought down to six million cubic metres daily from 18-20 million cubic metres per day normally piped to Sofia.


Bulgarian officials said they did not know how long the repairs were expected to last.


Officials said Russia had said that decreased volumes had been also due to Ukraine's continued siphoning of the gas flowing over its territory. Bulgaria was hit by Moscow's cuts in gas supplies to Ukraine in March, imposed because of non-payment.