BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.26
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The capacity of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Bulgaria, will be offered on the PRISMA platform, Trend reports with reference to the ICGB AD, a project company.
ICGB signed a contract with PRISMA European Capacity Platform GmbH, 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 DESFA and TAP in Greece via PRISMA.
“The IGB pipeline’s capacity is 3 bcm/y in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria and can be extended to 5 bcm/y allowing reverse flow if there’s market interest. Currently, half of the interconnector’s capacity is already reserved – a total of 1,57 bcm. Four out of the five shippers that have booked capacity are entirely new to the Bulgarian market and that leads us to believe the international and market interest in the project will only be growing after its commercial launch”, said ICGB’s Executive Officer on the Bulgarian side Teodora Georgieva.
The IGB pipeline is of key importance for increasing security of supply and for ensuring diversification of natural gas sources for Bulgaria and for the region of Southeast Europe. Currently, all efforts remain focused on entering commercial operation in July 2022.
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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