Baku, Azerbaijan, April 10
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Greece and Bulgaria have agreed to work on the updated schedule of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas, Trend reports.
The remarks were made during a meeting between Bulgaria’s Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and Greek Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change Giorgos Stathakis, according to a message from Bulgarian Energy Ministry.
During the meeting, the ministers discussed the necessary follow-up to the project’s implementation.
The two sides expressed commitment to work on an updated schedule for the project so that the interconnector could be put into operation in 2020 in synergy with the launch of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), reads the message.
During his visit to Sofia, Minister Stathakis confirmed that IGB is a priority project for the Greek side as well.
The ministers stressed that the key priority is the successful completion of public procurements for the project.
"All tenders for the project are expected to be completed by the end of April. The sides also discussed the forthcoming signing of an intergovernmental agreement to stabilize the tax regime for 25 years," said the message.
IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to TAP via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets.
The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas.
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