BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov.24
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Welding for the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) is close to finishing, the ICGB AD, a project company, told Trend.
“Construction activities for the IGB pipeline continue with a stable pace during the month of November. Right of way and stringing activities are now completed. Welding activities are also close to finishing with nearly 96 percent completion rate achieved. Automatic welding is completed, just under 7 km are left to be welded with manual and hybrid welds,” said the company.
The ICGB AD said that over 173 km of pipe with field joint coating are ready and a total of 162 km are lowered.
“Trenching along the entire route will be completed by the end of the month. The majority of the crossings for the IGB pipeline are now completed – road crossings, railways and other existing infrastructure along the 182-km route of the interconnector,” the project company said.
The IGB project enables the transmission of gas and supplies from new sources, making it key to Bulgaria's energy security and part of the national plan for diversification of gas sources. The capacity of the project is 3 billion cubic meters with the option to reach 5 billion cubic meters. Half of the capacity of the interconnector is already reserved, as four of the shippers are completely new to the Bulgarian market. A contract has been signed for the supply of 1 billion cubic meters from Shah Deniz 2 based on a long-term contract with Bulgargaz.
The conclusion of the contract for construction of the interconnector dates back from the end of 2019, as one of the main commitments of the project company in structuring IGB is the obligation to control costs within the approved budget, which will ensure competitive transmission for customers. The delay in construction activities and the approved update of the construction schedule for the end of 2021 are due to objective reasons related to the global coronavirus pandemic and do not lead to direct losses. The established alternative route through the Greek system and Siderokastro provides a temporary solution for servicing the contract with Azerbaijan until IGB is put into commercial operation.
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