BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.6. Bulgaria’s energy ministry has dismissed media reports about blocking of the gas interconnector with Greece, Trend reports.
A number of Bulgarian media outlets reported that allegedly the country’s energy minister Rosen Hristov hasn’t approved the required changes to the management structure of ICGB AD, the project company. Reportedly, the minister has cancelled the new appointments at the company, which are the necessary requirements of Bulgarian and Greek regulatory bodies for the pipeline’s certification.
Bulgarian energy ministry said in a statement that these are fake news.
“As for the fake news published by some serious media outlets with headline “Radev’s office blocking the gas interconnector with Greece”, we state that energy minister Rosen Hristov hasn’t cancelled the appointments at ICGB AD. The process was delayed at the Registration Agency. The problem is that some administrative requirements haven’t been fulfilled and important documents such as the approval of national regulatory bodies are missing. It is also necessary to correct spelling errors in the last name of the new member of the company board,” reads a statement issued by Bulgaria’s energy ministry.
The statement further says that both president and the incumbent prime minister of Bulgaria have repeatedly said that diversification is a priority of the country’s energy strategy.
“In this regard, we state that the new management of the energy ministry doesn’t block the new gas interconnector with Greece, but makes every effort to overcome the existing problems as soon as possible,” said the ministry.
The IGB project is of key importance for increasing security of supply and for ensuring diversification of natural gas sources for Bulgaria and the region of Southeast Europe. At the regional level, IGB will provide access to the gas transmission network for Bulgarian municipalities and regions that didn’t have an option for connectivity. The interconnector with Greece is an entirely new route for the transmission of natural gas to Europe and will give Bulgaria and the region access to supplies from new sources. The project will connect the country with the Southern Gas Corridor and has excellent synergy with other major energy projects such as TAP, TANAP, EastMed and the LNG terminal at Alexandroupolis.
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