Baku, Azerbaijan, May 30
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Construction of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) will start on the territory of both countries simultaneously, Teodora Georgieva, executive director of the ICGB project company, said in an interview with Trend.
“The symbolic start of the construction works was given near the Bulgarian - Greek border on the territory of the Municipality of Kirkovo, Bulgaria. In fact, the construction works will start at the same time for the whole project. Regardless of the territory of the two countries, activities on ground facilities and the linear part will be implemented both in Bulgaria and in Greece,” she said.
Georgieva noted that as part of the IGB construction the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor will carry out preparation works, elaborate the detailed design of the interconnector and procure the main equipment.
The pipe manufacturer will start production of the first quantities according to the indicative schedule of the project, added the executive director.
She pointed out that the construction of Greece - Bulgaria interconnection gas pipeline aims to ensure diversification not only of the routes but also of the natural gas sources for Bulgaria and the region.
As part of the development of the Southern Gas Corridor, IGB Bulgaria and its neighboring countries will have access to alternative Caspian supplies as well as existing or future liquefied gas terminals, said Georgieva.
The executive director went on to add that IGB is also strategically important due to many possibilities for connection with other large energy projects, namely:
• ICGB will provide increased security and diversification by source and route of gas supply connecting countries in the region with the Southern Gas Corridor and Shah Deniz 2 in the Republic of Azerbaijan;
• The project creates possibilities for interconnection and has synergy with other future important projects in the region - the LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis, Greece; EastMed to directly link resources from the Eastern Mediterranean with Greece via Cyprus and Crete, as well as liquefied gas from Israel, Egypt.
• IGB is of strategic importance for the realization of the vertical gas corridor, supported by the European Commission, which interconnects the networks of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Hungary.
• The implementation of the pipeline also creates opportunities for gas transportation through the gas transport system of Bulgartransgaz EAD to the other interconnectors with Romania (IBR) and Serbia (IBS).
The groundbreaking ceremony for IGB was held May 22 in Bulgaria.
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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