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, announced that the so-called IGB pipeline was issued an operational permit for the territories of Bulgaria and Greece, thus enabling its commercial launch scheduled for 1 October.
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.
