Bulgarian caretaker Minister of Regional Development Ivan Shishkov said after his visit to the construction site of gas interconnection between Greece and Bulgaria (so-called IGB pipeline), that the construction works on the pipeline will be completed by Sunday, so that the procedure for pre-final certification can begin.
In mid-August, ICGB, a project company for gas interconnection, said that the pipeline has been connected to the Bulgarian natural gas transmission network operated by Bulgartransgaz. This technically ensures the physical flow of gas through the pipeline as it links up the operators’ grids in both host countries. The gas pipeline and all adjacent above-ground facilities are completed, technically sound and fully tested with actual quantities of natural gas.
The interconnector has an annual capacity of 3 billion cubic meters. As much as 1.57 billion cubic meters of its capacity have already been secured on long-term contracts of up to 25 years. Apart from state supplier Bulgargaz, Greek counterpart DEPA and Italian energy company Edison have reserved long-term capacity, in addition to Azerbaijani SOCAR, which will supply 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
Since March, IGB has also been connected to the Trans-Adriatic (TAP) pipeline, allowing for supplies from Azerbaijan that arrive in Greek ports to flow to Italy and southeastern Europe.
IGB’s commissioning will also enable the flow of more liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bulgaria and southeastern Europe via Greece, paving the way for potential future LNG imports from the US, Algeria, Qatar, Egypt and other suppliers.
