ICGB, a joint venture company of Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and IGI Poseidon, in which Greek Public Gas Corporation (DEPA) and Italian Edison hold equal stakes, in charge of the project for the construction of gas interconnection between Bulgaria and Greece, said that a total of 1.57 billion cubic meters, more than a half of its capacity, has already been reserved ahead of its planned launch of commercial operations in July.
Executive Director of ICGB Teodora Georgieva said that four out of the five shippers that have booked capacity are entirely new to the Bulgarian market and that leads to a conclusion that market interest in the project will only be increased after its commercial launch.
ICGB also said that it has signed a contract with German PRISMA European Capacity Platform, Europe’s leading gas capacity trading platform, marking a major milestone in the preparations for the pipeline’s launch of commercial operation.
ICGB will auction its capacity at the interconnection points with Greek natural gas transmission system operator DESFA and the Trans-Adriatic pipeline (TAP) in Greece via PRISMA.
Being listed as a natural gas transmission operator on the PRISMA platform will allow ICGB to aim at new markets, further strengthening Bulgaria and Greece’s positions on the energy map of the region.
182 kilometers long Bulgaria-Greece gas interconnection is designed with the capacity between 3 and 5 billion cubic meters of gas per year, but it could be extended up to 10 billion cubic meters in case of commercial interest and economical justification. The construction of the pipeline officially started on 22 May 2019.
